Reload
by Arcade Lackey
Summary: What if Jet had the chance to relive his life starting from the days just before Turbo Time and RoadBlasters were unplugged? Will he be able to prevent 'going Turbo' from becoming a thing? Or will history repeat itself, just differently? The future of Litwak's Arcade hangs in the balance. Contains Turbo/Roxie (OC, RoadBlasters Good Girl) and Set/Sorceress (female Bad-Anon member).
1. Waking Up

**Author's Note: **They're not **necessary** for understanding what is going on, as details will get explained as they are made relevant, but for those of you who want to know the full story, this one is an offshoot from 'The Honeyglow Surge' (splits at chapter 33), which is in turn the sequel to 'A Sudden Surge'.

Special mention to Dixie Darlin for giving me the inspiration to write this story, as well as her blessing. The initial premise is somewhat similar to one of her stories, "The Path Not Taken", though it becomes completely different.

Furthermore, I'll state here that the Crumbelina mentioned in this story is 19 years old, being from Sugar Rush 2, a game set 10 years after the original Sugar Rush.

* * *

Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade, circa 1987.

Jet sat up suddenly, taking a deep, gasping breath as a bucket of water was dumped into his face. He had apparently crashed into a wall during a race in Turbo Time and was flung from his car.

"You okay there, brother?" Set asked with a goofy smile.

"You should have seen it!" Turbo said as he guffawed replaying the imagine in his head over and over again. "It was Turbo-tastic!"

Jet desperately looked at himself. His skin was grey again, and he was once again wearing that old familiar blue jumpsuit. His heart lurched. _What am I doing here?! Th__is__ game was unplugged ages ago! Where's Sugar Rush 2?!_ He ran out into Game Central Station ignoring the two.

"What's up with him?" Turbo asked.

"Mind your own business Turdbo," Set said as he ran after Jet.

"What's gotten into you?" Set asked as he finally caught up to Jet.

"No. No no no.." Jet said, "This isn't right!" _Crumbelina.. No, I've got to wake up. I've got to __**WAKE UP**__. This is obviously a dream! _He paced around trying to make sense of the situation.

"Jet, you're scaring me here," Set said worriedly, "Tell me what's up, I can help."

Jet leaned against the gateway to their game and hesitantly asked, "Is.. Is there a game called RoadBlasters in the arcade?" _What the hell happened? I always wanted to go back.. But how? And why now after all this time? I've got a girlfriend for crying out loud, and a good life! __I need to __wake up from this__. __It can't be real.._

"RoadBlasters?" Set asked, "Oh, is that the new game Litwak has been talking about? Look, it's nothing we need to worry about, right? We're the most popular in the arcade for crying out loud. There's no reason to wig out. And even if it does somehow become more popular, it's not like people will stop playing our game."

Jet's heart lurched again. _Am I going to have to lose Turbo Time again? Was everything else just a dream? Was Crumbelina not real? I'm so confused.. No.. It had to be real, there's no way it wasn't real.._

"Come on, let's go to Tapper's," Set said, "You look like you need it."

"H-have you ever thought that maybe we should have more friends?" Jet asked. _If I have to be in this time, I might as well try to do things right this time.. Wait.. If those games don't get unplugged, will Sugar Rush still get plugged into this arcade? What about Sugar Rush 2?!.. No.. There's no way Litwak would pass up racing games. All that would change is that he gets new surge protector__s__ early, right?_

"More friends?" Set asked dismissively, "Look, you know how I feel about all these jokers. What do they have that you don't. All we need is each other."

"Hear me out.." Jet said, "Don't you think we could shake this place up a little?" _I have to intrigue him into this first. He can't help but enjoy pulling pranks, this will be no different to him, right? But hang on, if Litwak gets new surge protector__s__ earlier, then what? And then there's still the matter of RoadBlasters, how am I going to settle this?_

"Oh, I like where **this** is going!" Set said menacingly, "Tell me more about this idea of yours."

"Well you know how everyone is scared of Bad Guys, right?" Jet said with a forced smile, "I say we show them what's what. How do you think those Good Guys will feel when they're shown to be the real bad guys around here?" _It's about a 50/50 chance he loses interest with this._

"Oh, you mean you want us to be goody two-shoes," Set said with a sigh, "And here I thought it would be interesting."

"Come on," Jet said, "How often is it that we do something that's my idea?" _Figures. I'll have to pull this card then. I rarely ever asked anything of him. If he doesn't want to help, I'll do it myself. RoadBlasters came out in 1987.. 26 years.. I have to make sure I survive 26 years before I meet Crumbelina again.. Her kid self doesn't count. Can I make this work?_

"Alright, fine," Set said in a dissatisfied tone, "You'd better make this fun though. So where do we start?"

"Where to start?" Jet asked knowingly, "I think the best place to start would be Wreck-It Ralph. That guy always goes to Tapper's alone, pretty much the only person that ever talks to him is Tapper himself. I say we make him our first target." _I think Set's reputation precedes him though, I wonder if Ralph would accept Set as a 'friend'.. I'd really rather not resort to killing Turbo and my brother if it can be at all avoided. Though that would be the simplest solution, __wouldn't it?__ I still don't remember how to manipulate games so it's not like I can do that.._

Set laughed excitedly and said, "Oh, now **this** I like! You **do** have a good head on your shoulders, brother."

"I thought you might agree," Jet said, forcing a playful smile. _I have to keep myself the dominant one in this otherwise it'll trail off into whatever __Set__ wants __to do. I have to avoid that at all costs. I will __**not**__ allow 'going Turbo' to become a thing this time._ _It will be a long time, Crumbelina.. But you're worth it. I still have no idea how I got sent back, but this is perfect.._

"We were going to Tapper's anyway, let's see your plan in action," Set said happily.

All the way in the back of Tapper's, sitting by himself, was Ralph. He had a bored expression on his face, about as bored as you can expect from someone who has spent the last five years in near-isolation.

"H-heya Ralph," Jet said hesitantly as he and Set sat across from him. _He's already suspicious, I can't blame him. We have the reputation of being pranksters.._

"What do you guys want?" Ralph asked coldly as he sipped a root beer, "Whatever prank it is you're trying to pull, I'll have no part in it." _If you're thinking of pranking me, don't think I'll let you get away with it. I've got enough on my plate as it is._

"Now, now, Ralph," Set said teasingly, "There's no reason to sit all by yourself, now is there?"

Jet looked at Set. _Ugh, that is __not__ helping __**at all**__, Set._ He looked back over to Ralph and said, "We just thought you could use some company, that's all. Nobody truly wants to be alone, right?.. I know you Bad Guys get a bad reputation around here, and you don't deserve it. So we thought we could help." _You've got to be at least a little receptive to this, Ralph. I won't let you suffer through 30 years again. At least you only have to wait 10 years for your best friend's game to get plugged in. Although I guess she might not be your __**best**__ friend anymore.. I didn't think about that before.. How much should I change? They would still be good friends, right? And Ralph is dating the Vanellope from Sugar Rush 2 later on.. I have to keep all this in mind.. __But what am I going to say, 'oh by the way you can't go dating anyone for 26 years, because this girl will come along that you end up dating'? Yeah right. Who would buy that crap? I don't even know if this arcade will have Sugar Rush 2 in 26 years.. It pains me to even think about that.._

"Oh yeah?" Ralph asked dismissively, "And why now, after all this time?" _I'll admit that being avoided gets pretty annoying at times. Most times. All the time.. Even Felix doesn't look me in the eye and he's pretty much the nicest guy in the entire arcade. But why now? They're up to something, __but__ I suppose I __co__uld play along until they show their hand._

"Come on brother, he's obviously not interested," Set said as he began to stand up.

"No, I'm not going to accept that," Jet said to Set, which surprised him immensely, making him sit back down in shock. _I think this is the first time I've ever said anything like that to Set.._ "Why now? You're right.. We should have done this sooner, I'm sorry. But it just dawned on me today, that's all.. I mean, so what if you're a villain in your game? Does that mean you shouldn't have friends? It's not like **you** chose the role you play in the game." _I need __**your**__ help especially with this Ralph, otherwise this just won't work. It's for the best, trust me._

"Well.. You certainly seem.. as if you care, I guess.." Ralph said in shock, "Look, if it means that much to you, I'll play along with your little game for a while. But I've got my eye on you.." _You'll have a lot of answering to do if you're going to turn around and say it's a joke._

"That hurts, Ralph," Jet said, "I'm being serious here. I know Set and I don't exactly have the best reputations either, but that's one more reason we should stand together." _He's on board, what should I do next?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is a story I've been thinking about doing for a while now. Ever since I started writing 'The Honeyglow Surge', actually.


	2. Friends?

Ralph narrowed his eyes at Jet in suspicion and said, "If you say so.. And would you care to enlighten me as to why you're all wet?"

"Oh this?" Jet said, "Just a bucket of water.." _Should I try patching things up between Ralph and Felix immediately?_

"He crashed into a wall," Set said with a laugh, "Took a bucket of water to snap him out of his nap."

"So I take it things haven't been going so well with Felix still.." Jet said. _It shouldn't be too hard to make those two friends, considering Ralph always wanted friends and Felix is such a nice guy.. Gene will be the biggest obstacle here. Maybe I should have waited a while before saying anything.. Ralph still doesn't trust me after all._

"You think?" Ralph said callously, "Felix is a nice guy and all, but he's a Good Guy. Good Guys and Bad Guys are like oil and water. Everyone knows this."

"Tapper, what do you think?" Jet asked, motioning for him to join the conversation. _Ralph, you're wrong. You just don't know it yet._

"You'd better not be planning any trouble here," Tapper said, "What is it you need? I got root beer, that's about it." _What's he up to? Nice to see someone talking to Ralph though.. They'd better not be pranking him or I'll be stuck cleaning up the mess._

"Relax, Tapper," Jet said sincerely, "We just want to hear what you think about the possibility of Bad Guys and Good Guys getting along." _Tapper has been around just as long as us, he should understand.. He already talks to Ralph anyways._

"Well I don't know about that, Jet," Tapper said while leaning on the counter, "It's never happened before. Not in this arcade." _I wish that weren't the case._

"Don't you get along with Ralph well enough?" Jet asked, setting up his argument.

"I suppose so," Tapper said with a sigh, "But I'm no hero like Felix. It's different."

"But you do get along with Felix as well," Jet said, "**Don't** you?" _Figures he would pass himself off as neutral. But that works too, just not as well._

"Well of course," Tapper said with a nod, "Though he doesn't pass through that often. Usually stays around Gene and the others in their apartment."

"Hey Tapper, I need a root beer," a familiar voice called out. Tapper went to grab him and a few others some root beer.

"..Sonny?.." Jet muttered. _Come to think of it, he was around back then.. Er.. Back here. Centipede broke just a __couple __years after being plugged in due to a broken screen. But where has he been living since then? And he's already got his new avatar.._

"Woah, you know that guy, Jet?" Set asked, "When did you do that?" _There's something going on here.. Jet has changed.._

"Oh, uh.. Well just his name," Jet said. _Nobody should know he's Centipede yet.. I only found out just recently at the Bad-Anon meeting._ "So about what I was saying.."

"Right, what exactly are you getting at, hmm?" Ralph asked while crossing his arms.

"Well I'm just thinking.." Jet said, "If we can get Felix away from the other Nicelanders, we can get things patched up between you two. Felix isn't the type who would simply ignore you if you're talking to him." _The problem is catching him when he's alone. Gene watches him like a hawk.._

"Yeah, see, that's just not going to happen," Ralph said as he stood up, "Thanks for the chat fellas, but I think it'd be best if I go." _Nice effort Jet, but it'll never work._

"You're running away," Jet said calmly. _Set just don't say anything, you're doing well so far._

"It's everyone else who runs away," Ralph said coldly as he walked away.

"Well that was a failure," Set said, "You've changed.. What happened? I've never seen you serious about anything before.."

"We've been here in this arcade four years now," Jet said, "There are better ways to have fun than pranking everyone. It's only a matter of time before some other game comes and bursts our bubble. Who would take us in if Turbo Time should suddenly get unplugged?"

"You're **still** worried about that?" Set said, "Look, RoadBlasters may be getting plugged in soon, and it may be a racing game too.. But that doesn't mean that we'll get unplugged. We're the most popular game in this arcade."

"Let's just suppose it breaks then," Jet said suddenly raising his voice just a little, "You know what happened to Centipede? Nobody saw that coming either." _This should get Sonny's attention.._ He turned to look at Sonny. _That's right, I'm talking about you._

"Woah woah, lower your voice, Jet," Set said, "Geez.. That crash is really getting to you."

Sonny slowly walked over and casually sat down next to them. His hair was dark and fairly long, and slicked back into a pony tail. He wore glasses and a dark pinstripe business suit with a grey tie. Nothing like his original form.

"Evening," Jet said. _Well that got his attention. Asteroids is still around, I wonder if he's friends with Bobby yet.._

"What brings you here?" Set asked tauntingly. _What's with this guy?_

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and thought it sounded interesting," Sonny said, "That's all.. So what's this about Centipede?"

"Oh we were just talking about how nobody saw it coming when.. when the screen just went out on it like that.." Jet said, "It could happen to any one of us, especially us older games.. Oh, which one are you from, if I may ask?" _Where have you been hiding?_

"Oh, I'm just some no-name customer in Paperboy," Sonny said.

"Isn't your name Sonny?" Jet asked. _I want him to know I know at least something about him.. Probably a bad idea to let him know too much. But he more or less owns E-Z Livin' 2 in my timeline. Someone like that will be __a valuable ally__.._

"I'm curious how you found that out," Sonny said, eyeing him up suspiciously, "I've not told many people, and they don't talk about me."

"I just heard your loud friend calling you that the other day, that's all," Jet said. _I'm lying through my teeth right now, hopefully he's friends with Bobby already.. He probably knows I'm lying, I'm terrible at lying.._

"Oh.." Sonny said with a sigh, "Well it's not such a big deal anyways. It just seemed odd that you would know."

"So what makes you interested in Centipede?" Set asked as he placed an elbow on the counter and rested his head on his hand. _That's why you came, isn't it? What was Centipede to you?_

"Oh.. Oh.. Well you see.." Sonny said, "It's not specifically Centipede that I'm interested in.. Just talk of games getting unplugged, and I was curious when you mentioned it, that's all."

* * *

Ralph slowly got out of the small minecart upon reaching the inside of Fix-It Felix Jr., what Jet said was still on his mind. He looked up at the penthouse longingly, seeing they're having yet another party in celebration of Felix doing his job. What he was programmed to do. He sighed. _It must be nice being the Good Guy.._ "What am I doing?" he asked himself miserably.

He found himself reluctantly going inside the apartment building and climbing the stairs to the penthouse. He gently knocked on the door. _Why am I doing this to myself? I already know what's going to happen.._

Gene opened the door excitedly, expecting it to be Turbo, only to slam it shut once he saw it was Ralph. "It's Ralph!" he screamed quietly, trying to hold the door shut even though Ralph didn't try to enter.

"Hide the stemware!"

"Get rid of him Felix."

"O-oh, right," Felix said nervously, "I'll go.. talk to him. Carry on, everyone." _Ralph.. What are you doing here?! You know better than this.._

Felix slowly opened the door enough to slip out and closed it behind him saying, "Ralph, Can I.. help you?" _Oh no.. It's that face..  
_

"Hey Felix. Just wanted to check on ya," Ralph said putting on his best fake smile. _We both know this isn't true.._

The door opened a crack and Gene could be heard asking in a whisper, "Is he gone yet?"

"Well that's rather rude, Gene," Ralph said pushing the door in slightly, "I'm just here to check on the well-being of ol' Felix here and you want me to leave?" _I don't even know what excuse I can use to be worried about him.._ "That doesn't sound very **nice**, now does it Felix?"

"What are you planning, Ralph?" Gene opened the door completely before crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes until they were little more than slits.

Ralph sighed, frowned and nodded. _Gene would have to be the one sticking his neck out._ "What **would** I be planning, Gene? Tell me, I'd love to hear it. I'm sure everyone would." He pushed himself past Gene and smashed the ceiling, then stairs. Luckily nobody was standing there, otherwise they'd have died temporarily. He made his way inside, careful not to break anything else. _Okay, the ceiling was my fault, but glass stairs?_ The music stopped.

"Nobody said you could come in here," Gene said angrily.

"Nobody said I **couldn't**," Ralph said, looking back and trying his best to put a smile back on his face. He sat down on a couch as the other Nicelanders ran to the other side of the room.

"You **can't**," Gene said, "Leave. You're trespassing on private property. Do something Felix!"

Felix fixed the ceiling and stairs nervously then said, "I.. I don't know what I should do.."

"I've got an idea here, Felix," Ralph said, "Hear me out." _This is pointless. Why am I even trying?_

"O-okay.." Felix said inching his way over. The Nicelanders whispered to each other.

"You know, it's funny really.." Ralph said as he turned serious, "Jet.. You know, the better of the Turbo twins seems to think that I ought to be friends with you." He clenched his enormous fists ever so briefly. _What am I saying? This will never work.._

"Don't be absurd," Gene grumbled, "You're just the guy that wrecks the building. Bad Guys and Good Guys will **never** get along."

"W-wait.." Felix said, "Wait wait wait wait wait.. wait.." _Jiminy jaminy that's too many waits.._

"Felix?" Ralph asked with an eyebrow raised, "You get stuck in a loop or something?" _What is he saying to wait for?_

"It's something I've been wondering for a while.." Felix said, "I just kind of.. accepted it.." _But it never felt right.._

"You can't be serious," Gene said, "He's a Bad Guy, Felix! Every day he destroys our homes!"

"Y-yes, that's true.." Felix said nervously. _But even so.._

"Then you should already understand," Gene said, "Just convince him to leave and everything will be as it should be."

"T-that's rather cold-hearted of you Gene.." Felix said, eliciting gasps throughout the room. Ralph could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"What?" Gene asked in shock, "Felix, what's gotten into you?"

"Ralph.." Felix said, "Tell all of us here.. Why you wreck the building. We all know the reason already, don't we?" _I've wanted to say this for so long.. Thank you for reaching out, Ralph.. I don't think I could have done it without you, as much as it pains me to say. My father would be so disappointed._

"That's the game, isn't it?" Ralph asked, "If I wasn't here to wreck the building, there would be nothing here to fix. Nobody would spend a quarter to jump around swinging a hammer at nothing. I'm just doing what's in my code. It's not like I enjoy being a home wrecker." _Okay, well it is a bit fun, actually. Especially throwing Gene across the screen.._

"But!.." Gene grouched, "Will somebody back me up here?!"

Mary timidly walked up and said, "Felix.. You're right.. I'm sorry, Ralph, for the way I've treated you. I-I know it's too little too late, but if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, let me know.."

"Y-yeah," Lucy said as she walked closer, but still kept her distance, "I didn't really like excluding you anyway.. You just seemed so mad all the time, and you're always breaking things.. I'm sorry.."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Gene said, "Call me when you've all come to your senses." He stormed off to his bedroom.

"Ralph.." Felix said hesitantly, "If.. If it's alright with you, can we try this idea of yours?" _It's four years too late.._

"Really?" Ralph asked hopefully, "You mean it?" _Am I dreaming?_

"Sure thing.. Er.. Partner," Felix said extending his hand awkwardly for a handshake. _Better late than never.._

"What about Gene?" Ralph asked. _There's no way he would approve of this.._

"N-now don't you worry about Gene," Felix said.

"H-he'll get over it," Don said, "I'm sorry, Ralph.. Everything just sort of happened.. Y-you can be a pretty scary guy, no offense." The other Nicelanders all got closer to him saying variations of the same apology.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Now some of you may think that Ralph should have gone berserk when Gene was being his usual jerkwad self, but this is the Ralph from 25 years ago, he's not as fed up with being avoided as he is during the movie. Likewise, Felix isn't as acclimatized to ignoring Ralph as he is during the movie either.

Ralph becoming friends with Felix is but one small step in the right direction, so don't think that everything is going too easily.


	3. Saying Too Much

"Well.." Set said as he heaved a sigh of relief, "I think it's about time we prepared for tomorrow." _Something is off about this guy. Maybe a few screws loose. Let's get out of here._

"I'd like to speak with your brother for a moment first if that's alright with you," Sonny requested calmly.

"Do whatever you want," Set said while shrugging and rolling his eyes, "You know where we live, Jet." _I'll just get Jet to tell me later._ He went back to Turbo Time.

"Alright.." Sonny said casually as he adjusted himself in his seat, "Let's hear the real reason you know my name.. My 'loud friend' would never fit in here, and we don't talk to each other out in Game Central Station."

Jet fought the urge to slap his forehead. _I already screwed up. I can't just say I'm from the future. Who knows how something like that could change things?_ "W-well.."

"Mhm.." Sonny said while narrowing his eyes, "And I'm guessing you know my secret as well.."

"Does it matter how I know?" Jet asked, "I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about." _I can't tell __him__.. I really want to tell __him__ not to help Turbo, but what if he does it to spite me?_

"What's the catch?" Sonny asked, "You're up to something, it's pretty easy to see."

"I'm being fairly open about what I'm up to," Jet said, "Don't you ever get tired of seeing the way Bad Guys are treated? I just thought that someone with your.. expertise would be able to help me out here." _Is this even going to work? I have an idea of what kind of person he is in the future, but he hasn't made the mistake of helping Turbo yet.. __I'm trying to rush things too much. I need to take it easy, __but it might be too late for that now.._

"Pfft," Sonny said while being careful to keep his voice down, "Help you how? And what if I say no? You gonna tell everyone who I am? I'll just change my appearance again." _I don't need the attention that comes with being Centipede._

"I-I haven't thought it through that far.." Jet said, "I don't plan to extort assistance out of you though." _It's not like I perfectly remember every little detail.. How would he be able to help me, I wonder.._

"I don't feel like sticking my neck out for this," Sonny said, "At least not at the moment.. But you're right about how Bad Guys are treated.. Good luck with it." He stood up and began walking away.

"O-one more thing," Jet said pleadingly as he stood up. Sonny slowly turned to face him. "Turbo can't be trusted with that kind of power." _I hope I made the right choice __saying that__.._

Sonny crossed his arms and looked Jet over trying to figure out what exactly Jet meant. Without saying anything he turned around again and left.

Jet sighed and sat back down. "Tapper, one more root beer." He babysat his drink in contemplation of his circumstances. _How did I even end up here in the first place?.. I was leaving the Bad-Anon meeting with Ralph and then.. Then __**what**__?_ He sighed. _Forget it. That won't help me now anyways. Set is already suspicious of me. __S__o is Sonny.. I don't know if I can get them to keep helping me. __How can I keep Set interested? Should I get him to prank Turbo to keep him distracted? No.. Distractions don't last long enough._ He took a sip of his root beer. _What does Turbo even do in his spare time? It's been __so long I'd forgotten. He was friends with Felix, more or less I think. Who wasn't? This would be so much easier if I had him and Ralph helping me out.. But I can't just tell them 'Oh by the way I'm from the future'. This whole situation is too unreal.. And yet it __**is **__real__.._

"You okay there, Jet?" Tapper asked out of concern. _He's looking even worse than Ralph.._

Jet looked up and asked, "What would you do Tapper?.. If you just knew something bad was going to happen and only you could fix it, but didn't know how?" _I hope that's vague enough.. It should be._

"What is it this time?" Tapper asked as he for once took a seat, across from Jet.

"RoadBlasters is getting plugged in soon," Jet said, "I can't tell you how, but I just know it will hit Turbo pretty hard. It's a racing game.. One five years more advanced than ours. There's no way we can compete with that.. You know how prideful he is." He glanced around the room to see if he should be keeping his voice down lower. _Good. Turbo, Set, and Sonny aren't in here. I've reached my limits on what I can say around the latter two I think, __and Turbo is Turbo__._

"Ohhh boy.." Tapper said worriedly, "That could be a problem.. Have you tried making amends with him? I imagine pranking him constantly would only make matters worse."

"What? You mean like make friends with him?" Jet asked dismissively. _As if Turbo would even want to be friends after all we've put him through._

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Tapper asked, "You're friends with Ralph now, after all.." _I saw what you did for him. You may be a good guy after all, Jet.._

"Turbo is different," Jet said with a chuckle, "Ralph's skepticism is nothing compared to his."

"Then I guess you've got your work cut out for you.." Tapper said as he stood up and placed a hand on Jet's shoulder, "You'd better go, your brother is probably waiting for you." _I don't need Set causing any trouble in here._

Jet nodded with a sigh and finished his root beer. He went back to Turbo Time for some rest before the arcade opens.

* * *

Or not.

"So what was all that about?" Set asked with his arms crossed, "You've been acting weird ever since that crash earlier. How'd you even crash into a wall? You're more careful than that." _Leaving out the conversation with that Sonny guy for now.._

"I've just got a lot on my mind," Jet said, "Our role in this arcade is too uncertain right now and I don't like it. Whether we get unplugged or not isn't the issue." _The issue is fixing this mess before it becomes one._

"Then what **is** the issue?" Set asked worriedly, "I want my fun-loving brother back. The one who does everything with me and doesn't worry so much."

"Is it such a bad thing that I'm thinking for myself for a change?" Jet asked without thinking.

"Woah, hang on there," Set said, "What do you mean by **that**?"

"I mean I don't really enjoy pranking other people," Jet said, "Why would I? Why do **you**? It's a miracle that we haven't seen much in the way of retaliation." _Well lighthearted pranks are fine, but he takes them too far. This isn't helping regardless.  
_

"That never seemed to bother you before!" Set said, "If it bothered you so much why didn't you ever say anything? We're brothers. We're supposed to be partners."

"I **should** have said something before.." Jet said frustratedly, "I'm saying it **now**.. I don't want us to look back to this time thinking 'Why didn't we see it coming?'"

"See **what** coming?" Set asked, "What do you see coming?" _You know something I don't.._

Jet sighed and said, "..I can see Turbo going nuts when our game eventually becomes less popular. RoadBlasters is five years more advanced than ours. Do you really think we can compete with that? Our game is only two-dimensional from the player's perspective. They have an entire dimension over us." _I've said too much.._

"Putting aside how you know so much about RoadBlasters.." Set said with a sigh, "I wish you would have just told me all this sooner. If it bothers you so much I guess I can tone the pranks down a little, but that doesn't mean I'll stop. Even if it means I've got to do it **alone**." _I wonder what Turbo would do if he gets pushed while he's so worried about the new game.. Three-dimensional, huh? I wonder how he knows so much about RoadBlasters. It gets plugged in tomorrow, so I guess I'll find out soon enough._ "RoadBlasters gets plugged in tomorrow. You might want to get some sleep."

"Tomorrow.." Jet said, "You're right. It's going to be a long day.." _I was wondering when it was getting plugged in. So soon.._

They went to their house that was far from view from the monitor and went get some rest for the big day.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Next chapter RoadBlasters gets plugged in.


	4. RoadBlasters Arrives

Set shook Jet awake violently and said, "Hey Jet, it's time to wake up. Today is the big day, remember?"_I've got a plan for when the arcade closes, haha. The problem will be distracting Turbo._

Jet shot up wide-eyed and looked around. _So it really wasn't a dream.. This is no good. It's perfect, but it's no good.. _"R-right.." He shambled into the kitchen lazily hoping to find something, anything, to eat and settled on cereal.

Set sat across from him at the table with a grin and asked, "So what did Sonny want to talk about?"

"He just wanted to make sure I kept his secret, that's all.." Jet said before realizing it, "His name, I mean. I'm not sure why he doesn't really want his name known." _I need to get better at this._

"Oh, pfft," Set said, "Well that's just stupid." _And here I thought it would be something juicy._

* * *

The arcade opened and for about an hour things went as usual. Plenty of quarter alerts were sent Turbo Time's way.. This was until Litwak dragged in RoadBlasters. He placed it perfectly in view from inside Turbo Time.

"Wow!" the kid watching his friend play Turbo Time said as he saw the new game get flicked on.

The kid playing Turbo Time turned around slowly, hesitant to have his quarter wasted. "New game! Alright!" he said excitedly as he abandoned Turbo Time to watch his friend play the new game.

Turbo looked on with his wide grin for a moment in disbelief. _Did they seriously just walk away before even __**finishing**__?! What __**nerve**__! So there's a new game, big freakin' deal!_ His face twisted into one of sheer rage as his car stopped as it was meant to during arcade hours with no one at the controls. Set happily passed him up bottling up his laughter as best he could. Jet hesitantly passed him as well. It was his job, after all.

Throughout the day as RoadBlasters became more and more popular with the regulars, Turbo Time's slowly began to fade.

"Dude look at these graphics!"

"This animation is so realistic!"

"Wow, you can shoot them, man!"

"This is way better than Turbo Time!" This last one cut Turbo the deepest.

After a long, still somewhat eventful day, the arcade finally closed.

* * *

"This is way better than Turbo Time," Turbo said to himself mockingly, fighting the urge to find something, anything, to take out his anger on.

"T-Turbo calm down, man," Jet said, "Y-you know how it is with new games. We've been through this before, right?" _Of course I know how this ends up. I doubt there's much I can do about our popularity. Turbo definitely needs to be kept clear-headed though._

"But this is the first time anyone's ever said **that**!" Turbo said angrily, "Stay away from me!" _Now is not the time for one of your pranks. I'm in no mood, as if I ever am!_

Jet clinched his fists. _I have to do something, anything.. I only have a few days normally before he would go Turbo.._ "So **what** if they said that?!" he asked in an annoyed tone, "If you let this get to you, how can you say you're the greatest racer ever?! If you don't be careful Set and I will take that title from you if you let yourself get so bent out of shape."

"You?!" Turbo laughed, still enraged, "Don't make me laugh, dead-last. The only thing you'll take is a wall to the face."

"Alright," Jet said as he nodded, trying to keep himself calm, "So let's see.. The arcade is closed. We don't have to worry about putting on a show for the humans. Let's have a race. Just the two of us." _There's no way he can avoid a challenge._ "The loser has to do whatever the other says."

"Oh ho ho ho!" Turbo said, his mind at least partially off of RoadBlasters for now, "Those are some pretty confident words coming from someone always placing dead-last."

"We'll see.." Jet said. _Oh please, I've been racing in Sugar Rush 2. A circular track is nothing in comparison. And I've gotten used to these controls again._

"This looks like it will be interesting," Set said excitedly, "Don't disappoint me, Jet!"

Set moved his car off to the side as Jet and Turbo took their places at the start of the race track, and revved their engines.

"Last chance to back out," Turbo said cockily. _I don't know what you're thinking, dead-last, but there's no way I'm about to lose to __**you**__._

"3, 2, 1.." Set said as he stood off to the side, "GO!" Both cars took off immediately.

Turbo shot ahead, as he expected, but Jet was slowly creeping up to him.

"No way.." Turbo said as he began taking this a bit more seriously. He shifted into second gear and sped up, Jet doing the same, much to his surprise. _What's going on?! He's not usually this fast.._

Jet slowly crept up alongside him and glanced at him with a serious look on his face. _I've never been so focused in all my life, Turbo. You'd better take this completely seriously._ He shifted into third gear and went ahead.

"Oh ho.." Turbo said, a smile slowly forming on his face, "Where do you think **you're** going?!" He shifted into third gear and eventually recaptured the lead, albeit slightly. It was a close three-lap race, with Turbo winning by just a second or so.

"Oh yeah! Eat it, Jet! Turbo-tastic!" Turbo yelled excitedly as he ran up to him and did the hustle for a moment. _I haven't been this excited for a win since..?_

"Yeah, well I almost **did** win," Jet said with a sigh, "I think I've proved my point though, haven't I?"

"And what point would that be, Jet?" Turbo asked while rolling his eyes, not even realizing he called him by name.

"If even I can almost beat you when you're like this.." Jet said, "What's that say about your likelihood of keeping that title you're so proud of? RoadBlasters is here to stay, and the sooner you accept that the better your game performance.. **our** game performance will be. We don't need you getting distracted, making the players lose even more interest because they can't win."

"Oh, whatever!" Turbo said coming down from his racer's high, "And you still have to do whatever I say." _There might be some truth mixed in there._

"Ugh.. Okay, what is it?" Jet said. _I wish I hadn't added that stipulation. What will he have me do?_

"You are to wax my car for me every day from now on," Turbo said with a smirk, "That's all. Get started." _Oh I could do worse. __**Far**__ worse.. But you put on a good show._

Set burst out laughing and said, "What?! You never let anyone touch your car!" _I thank you, Jet. You did real good._

Turbo looked over in shock as Set was standing by Turbo's car dangling a set of keys. _My __**keys**__! Why did I leave them in the car?!_ "Give those back here!" He chased Set as the latter ran out into Game Central Station.

* * *

"R-ralph," Felix said as he walked up to his new.. dare he say it.. friend. _This may be difficult. For a while at least.._

"Heya Felix," Ralph said as if they'd been friends for years, "What's up?"

"W-well, I was just thinking that we could go to Tapper's or something," Felix said, "You know, since we're.. friends." _We __**are**__ friends, right?_

"Sure thing," Ralph said, "I-I was just getting thirsty myself." He glanced over at Gene who was practically giving him a death glare. "Would you care to join us, Gene?" _Since you're oh so worried._

"I think I may just do that," Gene said like an over-protective father would. _I've got my eye on you, wrecker._

The three of them started on their way to Tapper's.

"Sorry about all those years, Ralph.." Felix said miserably, "I should have been more considerate of your feelings.." _How are you even willing to forgive us for that?_

"Oh **please**," Gene said.

"You are **not** helping, Gene," Felix chided, "Ralph is one of us and deserves to be treated as such." _I am disappointed in you, Gene._

"He **wrecks** the building!" Gene said defensively, "He wrecks **everything**!"

"It's my **job**, Gene," Ralph said in annoyance, "Anything else I wreck is either on accident.." He lowered himself to face Gene. "Or when people continue to make me mad, like you're starting to.." He stood back up. "Of course I'd never hit anyone that didn't deserve it. And not hard enough to hurt them too bad." _Well, I'd try not to hurt them that bad anyways.._

"C-calm down, you two," Felix said, "Jiminy jaminy! Now the three of us are going to go into Tapper's and have some root beer! I will have no more talk about this, understand?"

Ralph stood there dumbstruck then suddenly laughed and said, "You said it." _I gotta thank Jet later. I never thought I'd see the day.._

Gene sighed and said, "Fine."

They went into Tapper's, making the entire establishment suddenly go quiet.

"Carry on, everyone," Felix said nervously, eyeing up several others who were already there.

Among the many in Tapper's aside from Tapper himself were Blinky, Pinky, and Inky from Pac-Man, Zangief from the first Street Fighter, and Luke and Obi-Wan from Star Wars.

"Oh look! The perfect place to sit," Felix said nervously as he made his way to the back corner. _So many eyes on us. Even on the way in here.._

Ralph shrugged and joined him, with Gene glaring for a moment before doing the same. Ralph sat across from Gene and Felix. _I normally sit where Felix is sitting, but I'll let him have that chair this time. It feels weird facing this way though. Like that's the only thing weird about all this.._

"W-well look at this," Tapper said happily as he passed the three root beers, "I'm happy for you, Ralph."

"..Thanks," Ralph said reluctantly while glancing at Tapper, Felix, and Gene. He rested his head on the palm of his hand, his arm in turn was rested on the counter. He drank half of his root beer in one gulp.

"Really, I am," Tapper said with a nod, "It would be interesting if this starts a new trend, don't you think?" He eyed Felix.

"W-well, that would be nice, wouldn't it?" Felix said with a nervous smile. _Are you implying something with that?_

"Jet was real concerned about it yesterday," Tapper said knowingly, "Among other things.." _I probably shouldn't get too far into it._

"Jet?" Felix asked. _Oh, right.._

"Yeah," Ralph said, "I told you didn't I? It was Jet's idea in the first place."

"You mean the prankster?" Gene said, "Well no **wonder**." He rolled his eyes. _What are they up to? This can't be good, what if the whole arcade gets dragged into this?_

Tapper looked at Gene knowingly and said, "Ralph's a great guy if you get to know him. I'm glad to see you two taking the time to do so." _Don't you dare make Ralph mad. Especially not here._

Gene clenched the counter in frustration. _Is __**everyone**__ against me on this? I'm not being unreasonable here._ He guzzled down the entirety of his root beer and placed the empty mug down. Prompting Ralph to do the same after finishing his. Felix hadn't even touched his yet.

"I'll go get you some refills," Tapper said with a sigh. _So far so good.._

* * *

"Get back here!" Turbo screamed as he and Set weaved through everyone in Game Central Station.

"Make me, Turdbo!" Set yelled excitedly before running into a game called Blood and Thunder.

Turbo looked at the sign on the gateway for a moment before hesitantly going inside as well. He had to wait for the next train going in.

"I can't believe I let him steal my keys!" Turbo said angrily to himself, "My **keys**! To my **car**!" _Jet couldn't have been part of this, could he? No.. He didn't seem to know anything about it. I don't need this right now, not with this new game stealing my thunder.. What was this game again? Blood and Thunder? Well my blood is certainly boiling right about now. Where is that stupid train?_

The train slowly rolled in. It was decrepit to say the least. It looked as though it were barely holding together. The kind of train you would expect to be haunted. Turbo hesitantly climbed aboard, noting that he was the only one doing so.

"What kind of game is this anyways?" Turbo wondered aloud, "I guess I'm about to find out.. Set you're going to regret doing this when I find you.." _Revenge is a dish best served immediately._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well I hope you're not disappointed with the way this is going so far xD. There will be more going on in later chapters, for now I'm establishing a few characters.


	5. Roxie Rhodes

Two more root beers slid down to Ralph and Gene as they stared each other down.

Felix cradled the bridge of his nose and sighed. He guzzled down a root beer not wanting to be left out. _We're all equals here._ He placed the mug firmly down on the counter, prompting Tapper to slide another in front of him.

Ralph smirked, but it did nothing to mask his annoyance with Gene. _You think you're so much better than me, don't you? You don't even __**do**__ anything in our game except bring out one of Mary's pies and host parties when the arcade is closed._ He guzzled down his root beer and placed it gently on the counter.

Gene narrowed his eyes at Ralph and guzzled his root beer down as well. _Look at you acting so high and mighty just because Felix was foolish enough to give you a chance. I know what you are, __**wrecker**__._ He placed his mug on the counter firmly. _Jet suggesting that you two be friends is all the proof I need._

_Here we go again.._ Felix gulped down his root beer and placed it softly on the counter. _Why can't these two just get along? What should I say?_

Tapper sighed and slid more root beers their way, catching the attention from nearly everyone else in the room who wasn't already staring at the unlikely trio. _At least the root beer should help calm things down a bit._

Ralph and Gene, without missing a beat, gulped down their root beers simultaneously and placed their mugs on the counter.

Felix did the same shortly after. _Is this going where I think it's going?_ He stifled a giggle and remained straight-faced, as difficult as it was for him. _This root beer is starting to get to me.._

Tapper raised an eyebrow and slid six more their way after clearing the area in front of them of mugs. _I know where this is going. How long has it been since the last time?_

Ralph gingerly grabbed two mugs and chased them down one after the other, then smirked at him. _I can keep this up all night, Gene. Can you?_

Gene maintained his steady glare and followed suit. _Do you honestly expect me to give you even so much as an inch? They call me Big Gene for a reason._

Felix, showing his tenacity, quickly did the same. _We are __**all**__ equals here! We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves! Haha.._ He grinned.

"It's on," Ralph said knowingly, unintentionally raising his voice slightly. _We're all thinking it, aren't we?_

"You may be big on the outside, Ralph," Gene said sternly, "But I'm big on the inside." _Don't even expect for one moment you'll one-up me._

Ralph laughed and said, "And what's that supposed to mean, **Big** Gene?" He laughed again. "That rhymed."

Tapper prepared another round as Felix nearly bowled over laughing. _My bets are on Ralph. He spends the most time here by far._

"Now this looks interesting," Luke said with a smirk, "Who do you think will win, Ben?"

"Size isn't everything," Obi-Wan said sagely, "First glance would tell you that the largest will win. But can't you feel that the winner will be the slender one?"

"I'll still hedge my bets on the orange-shirted one," Luke said.

There was chattering in the room as Ralph, Gene and Felix chased down two more mugs each. Felix nearly choked on a laugh on his second of this round.

"You hear that?" Felix asked with a grin, "They're placing bets now."

"Well that's fine by me," Gene said, finally allowing a faint smirk to show on his face, "You don't know what you're getting into." _You won't be so confident for long, Ralph. I'm surprised at Felix, but he's nearing his limit._

Several rounds later..

"I.. I can't," Felix said painfully, "It's too much." He fought the urge to vurp.

"Oh, look who just lost," Luke said to Obi-Wan.

"Perhaps I was mistaken.." Obi-Wan said disappointedly.

"You put up good fight," Zangief said to Felix as he slid over a few seats, "I am Zangief. I am Bad Guy." _I hope that isn't a problem for you, since you're accompanying Wreck-It Ralph.._

"Well it is nice to meet you, Zangief," Felix said with a cheerful laugh, "I am Fix-It Felix Jr., of the **game** Fix-It Felix Jr." He laughed again and shook Zangief's hand.

"Felix!" Gene said with a sigh. _This is getting out of hand._

"Something wrong, Gene?" Ralph asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes. There. Is," Gene said with a sigh. Before he could elaborate four more mugs slid their way. There was another, but Zangief caught it first.

"Oh, you'd better hurry Gene," Ralph said as he picked up his two mugs and chased them down. _You're the one person I'll never let myself lose to._

"There's no need to hurry," Gene said while rolling his eyes and guzzled his root beers down, "If anything you should savor the flavor."

"There'll be plenty more where that came from!" Ralph said while puffing out his chest.

"Now, now, you two!" Felix chided cheerfully before laughing, "There's no reason to get testy." _Enjoy yourselves!_

Even the Pac-Man ghosts were wide-eyed.

Tapper chuckled to himself. _I've never seen Felix like this.._

Several more rounds later, Gene drank half of his root beer and covered his mouth with a fist, breathing out of his nose slowly before finishing and placing his mug down. _This isn't good. _"I'll admit it, Ralph, you're pushing me towards my limit.."

"You've surprised me too, Gene," Ralph said with a laugh, "Where are you packing it in?" _I can't handle much more myself.._

Gene laughed confidently and said, "A master never reveals his secrets." _No, I can't allow myself to go soft. He's the Bad Guy.. _His face tightened back into a scowl.

"Mind if we join you?" Luke asked Felix, "This is quite the event you have going on here."

"Not at all," Felix said cheerfully, "Have a seat." _Line up, everyone! There's, haha.. there's plenty of room._

"How have you been, Felix?" Obi-Wan asked with a warm smile as he and Luke sat a seat away, across from Zangief, "It's been a while."

"I have been just peachy," Felix said with a smile as Ralph and Gene gulped down two more root beers each, "As you can see we're having a bit of a battle here."

Ralph and Gene glanced over as more root beers slid down. They then stared each other down before slowly drinking them.

Zangief shifted in his seat. _Should I get up?_

"Don't worry about us.. Zangief, was it?" Luke said. _If he hasn't done anything yet, why would he now?_

"If you insist," Zangief said with smile while raising his hands, as if in defeat, "Most Good Guys, they avoid Bad Guys. Only seems natural to avoid confrontation." _It is not like I haven't tried socializing with Good Guys before.._

"You don't seem like such a bad person," Obi-Wan said warmly, "Just because you may be a Bad Guy doesn't mean you're a bad.. **guy**, does it?" _Are we perhaps mistaken about Anikan?_

"That's the spirit!" Felix said happily with a modest fist pump. _I knew it was a good idea to befriend Ralph! I just wish I did this sooner.._

* * *

Jet sighed as he held his part of the bargain, waxing Turbo's car. _Set what the hell are you thinking? You'll undo everything I've worked hard for. Turbo was just calming down.._ "Maybe I should go ask William where they went.." He finished waxing the car and left Turbo Time. _Where would __**he**__ be?.. Wait.. Don't tell me Set went to RoadBlasters.._ Jet scrambled towards its gateway, just barely remembering where it was back then. It was the outlet that Hero's Duty was eventually plugged into.

Jet looked around, confused. _I've never actually been here before.._ _It's surreal. As if I was never meant to come here.._ The sky was a brilliant blue, its landscape was perfectly flat, the green grass billowed softly in the gentle breeze. 'Bubble City', a place with large transparent-blue domes encasing important structures could be seen out in the not-so-far distance, where the 'racers', if they could even be called that, lived. There were also a few skyscrapers and shorter buildings.

"E-excuse me.." Jet called out as he reluctantly walked over to a red car, seeing movement inside. _Is this maybe the 'Good Guy' of RoadBlasters?_

The window slowly rolled down to reveal a woman with long, curly red hair wearing sunglasses and chewing gum. She took the sunglasses off slowly and asked, "Yes?" _He's grey.._ _Is he some kind of alien? __Is this what I can expect out there? _

"I was wondering if you've seen a guy that looks just like me come through here, he's my brother.." Jet said nervously, "Oh, right, my name is Jet.." _I didn't expect to see a woman.. I hope she doesn't think I'm hitting on her._

"Haven't seen him.." she said roughly. _I guess I can at least tell him my name._ "The name's Roxie, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you," Jet said cautiously, "You see, my brother is a bit of a prankster and he stole our friend Turbo's keys.." _Well he's not really our friend, but I should probably make nice with him regardless._

"Like I said," Roxie said, "I haven't seen him. Nobody but you has come in through that tunnel." _Back away from the car some.._

"Alright," Jet said, "Thanks. Welcome to the arcade, by the way." He started to walk off towards the exit. _The sooner I'm out of this game, the better.._

"I do have one question.." Roxie said after a moment.

Jet reluctantly turned to face her, only to notice her head was sticking out of the window of her car.

"What do you guys do for fun around here when the arcade is closed?" Roxie asked.

"We normally spend time in other games.." Jet said. _I don't really have time for this. Who knows what could happen with Turbo and Set together.._ "There's plenty to choose from out there."

"Like what?" Roxie asked. _I'm trying to be nice here. The least you could do is tell me about the place._

"Well, there's one that's a bar," Jet said, "one that's a fast food place, one that's a five star restaurant, one that's full of tanks and army soldiers on a battlefield.. Really there's too many to list."

"No pure racing games?" Roxie asked, "Really? I thought for sure every arcade had at **least** one of those." _Is this how newcomers are treated around here? Like some kind of nuisance.. Should I bother leaving the game at all?_

"It does, actually," Jet said, "Like I said, my brother stole our friend's car keys. The racing game is ours. It's called Turbo Time."

"Oh.. I hope we don't hurt your game.." Roxie said distantly. _So that's why.._

"It wouldn't be your fault.." Jet said, "If it's our time, it's our time." _Of course I can only say that because I lost it once already, and I have Sugar Rush 2 and Crumbelina to look forward to, no matter how many years away that is._

"That's a miserable way of looking at things," Roxie said coldly, "So what are you guys, aliens?" _I at least tried to be nice, but if that's the way you want to play it.._

"No. At least I don't think so," Jet said, "Sorry.. It really was nice meeting you, but I've got to find my brother before he screws anything else up. Later.."

"Bye.." Roxie said with a shrug and drove off. _Maybe he's just preoccupied, whatever. I may as well get a bit of practice in._

Jet sighed and left the game. _I could have handled that better.. I can worry about getting to know these people when I can be sure their game won't get unplugged. It's better this way._

* * *

Turbo walked into Blood and Thunder and cautiously looked around. It was night, very dark and stormy.

_Walking corpses wouldn't be at all out of place here.._ "Turbo-tastic.." Turbo muttered bitterly as he slowly walked through the rain, "Oh, and what's this? A Signpost and a fork in the road. Where did that fool run off to?" Reading the sign he got chills running down his spine, though the cold rain may have had something to do with that. _Cemetery, Forest, Castle.. Well I doubt he would go to the castle. I'll try the cemetery first, I'd rather not get lost in some forest._

Turbo trudged along to the cemetery, keeping his wits about him, looking around for any signs of movement. _Never coming back here.. Oh, the rain stops here._ There were dim floating orbs of light dancing around casually, seemingly ignoring him. Large menacing plants were off to one side, they seemed to breathe and looked as though they could eat someone whole. "How large is this cemetery anyway?" he sighed, mostly talking to himself before clenching his fists angrily. "I don't have **time** for this! Where the hell did Set go with my keys?" He stroked his forehead.

One of the floating orbs moved in front of his eyes and shook up and down.

"What do you want?" Turbo asked bitterly, "You going to show me?" He rolled his eyes as it shook up and down again. "Thanks.."

It floated off, Turbo in tow, towards the crossroads.

"Well wait up," Turbo said bitterly, "I don't have all day, but I'd rather not trip here." _What is with these roots anyways? They're rather far from the forest.. Great, back in the rain.._ "The forest, huh?" _He's here somewhere.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay! Those of you who have read Dixie Darlin's 'Going Turbo' trilogy will notice a similarity with Roxie's name. It's something I decided on with her input while talking with her in pm. You may or may not like Roxie's character currently, but I'm sure you will enjoy her once she finally meets and interacts with Turbo for a while! In case you would like to see what she looks like, you can follow the link down below to see a picture of what she more or less looks like. The image was made with Azalea's 'Heroine Fan-Art Creator'. I apologize that the link is a bit wonky.

i980. photobucketdot com/albums/ae289/ArcadeLackey/Roxie_zps5178931d. png


	6. Blood and Thunder

"Well Gene," Ralph said smugly, "You look like you've about hit your limit, haven't you?" _We both have._

Gene scoffed, "I can still go on. What about you? You're not looking so hot yourself." _It's just a matter of time._

They were both ready to spill at any moment. That much was quite obvious to every onlooker in the room.

"I can too. But before we continue.." Ralph said with a smirk, "Why don't we make this even more interesting by placing bets ourselves?"

"I'm listening," Gene said while rolling his eyes.

"How about this.." Ralph said, "If I win, you have to invite me to your parties whether you like it or not." _The rest will come naturally._

"And when you lose?" Gene asked. _I.._

"**If** I lose," Ralph said as he scratched his chin, "Things will go back to normal."

"Ralph!" Felix said disapprovingly. _I will not allow __**that**__!_

"Relax, Felix," Ralph said with a laugh, "I'm going to win anyways."

"..Deal," Gene said with a scowl.

Four final root beers slid in front of them.

Ralph immediately grabbed two root beers and chased one down, sipping the other. _I've got this in the b__-__ugh.._

Gene stared at his two root beers and slowly grabbed one. _I know.._ He sighed, his face softening once more. _You're __**not**__ such a bad guy, Ralph._ He slowly sipped and barely finished his first mug of that round. _I'll let you win this time.._ Ralph had just finished his second as Gene said, "You win.." _I could have handled at least three more. Whether you could or not isn't for me to say._ He covered his mouth with his fist again to make it more believable. "Never let it be said that I'm not a man of my word. You're free to join us whenever you like.." He tried his best to sound bitter, he really did. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going get some rest." _**Don't**__ make me regret this decision later._ He hopped off the stool he was sitting on and hopped out of the game to go home as everyone silently stared, taking in the situation.

"Congratulations, Ralph!" Felix said with a laugh, "You sure showed him!" _I noticed.. Thank you, Gene._

"I won.." Ralph said in disbelief, "I knew I'd win." He laughed and extended his fist to Felix. "Top shelf." _Was it just my imagination?_

"Top shelf," Felix said with a laugh as they fist bumped. _See everyone? It's not so hard.._

* * *

Jet sighed, standing at the gateway of RoadBlasters and looked around for the surge protector. _You would think that a glowing blue man would be easy to spot amongst a crowd._ He walked out to get a better view only to be met with an alarm. _Well there we go._

"Step aside sir," the surge protector said boredly, "Random security check." _What mischief are you up to this time?_

"You already know who I am, William," Jet said while rolling his eyes.

"I'm just a surge protector doing my job sir. Name?" William asked. _Why'd he bother saying my name?_

"You **know** I'm Jet from Turbo Time," Jet said with a sigh.

"And where you coming from?" William asked as he pulled out a clipboard and began writing. _I wouldn't stop you so much if you and your brother weren't chronic troublemakers._

"William, look.." Jet said with a sigh, "I know you're just doing your job, but you don't have to ask questions that you already know the answers to. Upon a mere glance upwards you can see for yourself that I have indeed come from the new game known as **RoadBlasters**." He breathed. _That would have had less impact if I had messed up while saying all that._

"And where you heading?" William asked, not acknowledging the extraneous comment. _It's a form of __punishment__. __We all know this._

"I was actually about to look for you," Jet said.

William looked up and raised an eyebrow in suspicion then asked, "Why?" _What is it __**this**__ time?_

"Well you see," Jet said, "My brother stole Turbo's keys again and I was wondering if you knew which game they ran into."

"Have the two of you ever considered **not** pranking anyone and everyone?" William asked accusingly. _Even if the current victim is Turbo._

"I've sworn off," Jet said, "You have my word." _Well, maybe one lighthearted prank every now and then would be fine._

"I'll believe **that** when I see it," William said while rolling his eyes, "They went into Blood and Thunder. Anything else to declare?"

"I **don't** hate you," Jet said, "And I appreciate your help." He ran off to Blood and Thunder hoping to find the two before it was too late. However too late it could possibly be. _Isn't that Sorceress's game?_

"Well that was different," William said before disappearing back into the wiring of the power strip.

* * *

"Are you **sure** we aren't going around in circles my little glowing friend?" Turbo asked bitterly. The orb of light flickered up and down before disappearing. "You didn't.." He looked around in disbelief. "That little.. Turbo-tastic! It set me up!" _This is the last time I follow an orb of light into a haunted-looking forest._

A furry brown spider about the size of a house cat crawled up to him and got on his foot.

"What's this?" Turbo asked aloud as he felt the sudden extra weight on his foot. He looked down slowly and chills shot up his spine. _Nope!_ He carefully shook it off and ran into the forest randomly. _This is just Turbo-freakin'-tastic. Now I know I'm lost and there's freakin' spiders everywhere._

"Hey Turdbo," Set said calmly. _Freaking out as usual, I see._

"Huh?" Turbo asked, turning to his right. _That's Set's voice. Too rough to be Jet's.. _He looked up and saw that Set was stuck in a giant spider web. Now when I say giant, I mean giant. It was no smaller than a spider about the size of a fully grown Cy-bug would make.

"You mind getting me down from here?" Set asked, "I'd do it myself but as you can see that would be a bit difficult." _If I could reach my pocket knife I'd be all set._

"It looks to me you're out of luck," Turbo said with a smirk, "You can just stay there for the rest of your life." _Well that __**would**__ be a problem for me as well.._

"Your car keys will be staying **with** me," Set said. He tried to shrug but he didn't have free range of motion thanks to the web.

Turbo sighed and said, "Stay here and think about what you've done.. I'll go see who runs this place." He smiled a bitter smile. _I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for __**me**__. Of course I don't know where the exit is._ He wandered the forest avoiding all of the spiders that seemingly came out of nowhere. _Nope nope nope.._ He finally found an exit, though it wasn't the one he had come in through. He instead found himself in a town full of living skeletons, werewolves, and vampires. _Well isn't this place just full of life?_

* * *

"It's raining.." Jet said as he entered Blood and Thunder. _I wish I could run between the raindrops.. Now according to what Sorceress said during her turn at the meeting she takes care of carnivorous plants in her cemetery. She might be able to help, she seemed nice. Well, t__hey all did._

Jet sighed and made his way through the rain and into the cemetery. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he asked. _Ignore the floating orbs.._ "Ah, excuse me.." He slowly walked a little closer to a startled Sorceress who was until then tending to her carnivorous plants, "I think my friends got lost in here a while ago, I was wondering if you knew where I might find them."

_Does he not realize I'm a Bad Girl? Don't ruin this chance to make a good first impression.. _"C-can you give me a description of them?" she smiled nervously and hit him with a spell that dried him instantly, "S-sorry if that startled you.." _Probably not the best idea to hit someone with spells upon a first meeting. Way to go me.._

"T-thanks.." Jet said, "Right. Well one of them looks exactly like me. He's my twin brother.. And the other one doesn't look so different either. We're all from the same game." _That was a little surprising, but it's better than being soaking wet._ "They're a bit more excitable than I am.." _It's probably best if you don't do that to them._

The orb of light made its way back out of the forest and into the cemetery, shaking nervously when it saw Sorceress and Jet.

"You!" Sorceress said accusingly as she hovered over to it, "Did you get them lost?" _These wisps will be the death of me. Well, I'm already undead.._

It shook up and down slowly as if it were apologetic about it.

"Well, they're in the forest," Sorceress sighed as she looked over to Jet, "I hope it's not too late.." _Don't do anything rash, Charlotte.._

"Too late for what?" Jet asked worriedly, "What would happen?" _They're kind of necessary for Turbo Time to stay plugged in.._

"Depending on the situation, the spiders in the forest might attack," Sorceress said, "Their venom is quite acidic.. I haven't heard any screams of agony so I'm sure they're fine." _It wouldn't be the first time someone has been attacked. They're quite territorial._

"Well I hope so," Jet laughed nervously, "They're an important part of my game.."

"So which game are you three from then?" Sorceress asked. _I need to prove I'm nice for when they end up finding out I'm a Bad Girl.._

"We're from Turbo Time," Jet said as he followed her around the rainy area and into the forest, "My name is Jet by the way. My brother's name is Set, and Turbo.. You can about guess he's the main character of our game." _We're more like neutral rather than Good or Bad Guys.._

"I see," Sorceress said, "That game is quite popular, isn't it? You can call me Sorceress." _I hope it won't be too big of a shock when he finds out._

"This is dangerous.." Jet said. _I hope she doesn't end up falling for me. I realize she probably doesn't have as many friends at this point at least as far as people **outside** her game goes, since she's a Bad Girl._

"Don't worry," Sorceress said, "As long as I'm around they won't do anything." _And they wouldn't attack for just no reason._

"O-oh. Right. Good," Jet laughed nervously. _I didn't mean to say anything in the first place. I need to be more careful._ "As far as game popularity goes.. I think that ours will go south, what with RoadBlasters just getting plugged in today. We're already feeling it." _I hope Turbo isn't thinking about it too much right now._

"Hey Jet," Set said with a wry grin, "Good to see you. I don't suppose you've got your pocket knife on you.. I can't reach mine." _These spiders aren't so bad. A bit pushy though._ "I see you've made another friend. Hey there, the name's Set." _She's cute. I'll take her._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Jet sure is doing a lot of worrying about women falling for him..

So a little note on Sorceress.. She is **not** Mishaela from 'Shining Force' as you can tell. I was originally basing her character on the tumblr blog 'ask-the-sorceress', but have since decided to give her an identity of my own choosing while still using elements from that blog such as the made-up game she's from and some characters that she told me about when I asked. I've added a few elements of my own however, to suit the story.


	7. When Set Met Sorceress

"Set.. How'd you get up there in the first place?" Jet asked while rolling his eyes. _Let's hear it troublemaker. He hasn't crossed a line yet, thankfully._

"Ah, you know.." Set said as he intended to shrug, "So I borrowed Turbo's keys and headed in here. You know, just to pick on him. Then before I knew it this giant spider picked me up, wrapped me up a bit, and stuck me here." _Kind of glad you're here though. _"So yeah, before I get made lunch, if you have the time, you could get me down maybe."

"I'm sorry.." Sorceress said with a frustrated sigh, "Charlotte is a good girl most of the time, but they're **very** territorial. You're lucky to be alive, you know?" _Although she wouldn't eat anybody without my permission.. She's __**very**__ well trained. _"I'll deal with her later."

"No harm done," Set said with a smile, "So what's your name, miss? _I dare not say cutie or babe, probably. Or toots, ha! That'd be a good one._

"Sorceress.." she said somewhat distractedly, "Just Sorceress." _Most people would be fearing for their lives about now, what is this guy made of? I guess I'd better get him down.._

"So you must be the Bad Guy of this game then," Set said with a smile, which caused Sorceress to stop in her nonexistent floating tracks, "Since you called the spider by name, I mean." _I'm gonna get you to like me girl, just you wait._

"Nothing wrong with that," Jet said with a shrug, which made Sorceress turn to face him. _Oh no.. He's smitten isn't he? Sorceress deserves someone better than you, Set. I can't trust you to behave at **all**. I'll have to have a talk with him before things get out of hand. At worst she might kill him herself when she finds out what kind of person he is. Or potentially **can** be anyways. He really only went off the deep end once he got the power to take over games, and our game was definitely getting unplugged.. I wish I knew how to do that though, I'd just change him and Turbo ever so slightly to make sure they did no harm. Maybe make Set stop being such a prankster too._

"You knew?" Sorceress asked in temporary moderate surprise, at least until she actually thought about it. _Well I guess it's not **that** far-fetched, with me being in a game like this, casually watering man-eating plants, talking to spiders.._ She sighed through one side of her mouth, relieved she didn't have to hide it anymore.

"Well it's pretty obvious," Set said with a chuckle, "Don't beat yourself up about it." _Maybe there's a **little** substance to what Jet said before. Doesn't hurt to interact with the non-greys in a more friendly manner. She's blue, but mmm.. And that outfit too. But still, pranking's in my code, I can't ignore that. How Jet manages is beyond me. He's going to go nuts one of these days, holding it in like that._

"Set.." Jet said in a serious tone, "Where's **Turbo**?" _I **know** he came in here after you._

"If it's him you're looking for," Set said with a smile, "He's around here somewhere. Said he was going to find whoever runs the place so they can get me down."

"He's actually helping you?" Jet asked skeptically, cocking an eyebrow. _You two practically hate each other._

"Well I **do** have his keys, Jet," Set said while rolling his eyes, "You know he needs his keys. Besides, there's no Turbo Time without all three of us." _Turbo had better not get our game unplugged by overreacting to RoadBlasters either. I was a little surprised that it was just as Jet said. I wonder who told him about it._

"Alright, well hold still," Sorceress said as she floated around to the back of the giant web Set was stuck to. She raised her hand to the web where his back was attached and cast a spell to dissolve the bit he was stuck to, as well as the web he was wrapped in. He fell to the ground, landing feet first, though he landed knees bent, with one hand to the ground for added support.

"Thanks," Set said with a smile, "We'd better find Turbo before he gets himself eaten or something.. I'm sure you must know this forest by the back of your hand, right? Could you maybe help us out?" _Look at me being all goody two-shoes. Can't be helped._

"Sure," Sorceress said with a calm, reserved smile, "I'd be happy to." _We strange types have to stick together. I guess that's why they're so calm around me and this place..  
_

Sorceress led them in the direction of the other end of the forest, since Turbo was clearly nowhere in sight back at the entrance. "He's probably gone to one of the villages, if I had to guess," Sorceress said, she had cast a spell in her hand which was generating an orb of light for the three, "Of course how your friend reacts here could spell his end too. Hopefully he's not a fool." _Then again they came in this game to begin with and made it this far._

"He **is** a fool," Set said with a laugh, "But I'm sure he knows better than to be outright hostile with anything in someone else's game." _Everyone should know that._ _But really, she's quite talented.. I wonder how many spells she's got. Probably one for every occasion._

* * *

"So tell me Ralph," Zangief said happily, "How does it feel to get along with the Good Guy of your game?" _The ones from my game, they are not so bad, could be better still._

Ralph shrugged and nonchalantly said, "It's pretty nice. Sure beats how things were before.." _Come on, was it really **that** necessary to ask? It's bad enough we're getting all this attention with Felix socializing with me. I hope that stops after a while when people get used to it._

"He's just programmed to be the Bad Guy, you know," Felix said cheerfully while softly nudging Ralph's arm with his elbow, "Really a shame how Bad Guys are treated around here.. How are things in your game, Zangief?" _I hope you don't have it bad like Ralph had it.._

"It is not **so** bad," Zangief said nonchalantly, "Not on **best** of terms, let us say. Much better now than when first plugged in."

"We're sorry to hear that," Luke said, "I guess we never really thought about the possibility that we were just carrying out the roles given to us.." _My dad did some pretty evil stuff in his backstory, it's only natural we'd hate someone like that.._

"That's entire point," Zangief said, "But change only happens for those who make effort. It is important to be that person, otherwise things never change."

"Wise words," Obi-Wan said with a smile, which mostly concealed his feelings of guilt, "If you will excuse us, we have someone we should go talk to.." _If it's not too late to undo the harm we've done.._

"See you guys later," Luke said with a sigh as he and Obi-Wan slowly got up and left. _Well now **I** feel like the bad guy for how we've been treating dad and the stormtroopers.._

"Later.." Ralph said with a small wave which really only consisted of him raising his hand slightly.

"So what are your plans?" Zangief asked the remaining pair of their little group sitting at the table as he drank Gene's untouched root beer. _No point in wasting it._

"No clue," Ralph said, "I think I've had enough root beer for a while though." He felt the urge to burp but feared he may vomit instead. _What would you call that? A vurp? That's one to remember.. Oof.. Talk about going overboard._

"If interested, we could go to my game," Zangief said, "See matches. We fight, but all in good fun usually."

"Well I think that sounds like a swell idea," Felix said warmly, "What do **you** say, Ralph?" _We'll get you out of that shell in no time..__  
_

"Sounds good to me," Ralph said with a smile, "I've always been a bit of a fighter myself, believe it or not." _Of course my temper tends to get the better of me so it might not be the best idea ever.. If it's their game though they should be safe._

"Interested in having match yourself?" Zangief asked with a smile, "Can work something out with others." _Won't be first time we had outsider matches. Might get them to open up more with Bad Guys, seeing these two._

"Oh, not **today**," Ralph said with a chuckle as he patted his stomach, "My stomach is going to be bothering me for a while after just now." _I lost count of how many root beers I actually drank. Seriously wondering where Gene packed all that away. Is his stomach a black hole?_

The three made their way to Street Fighter to watch the matches, again with Ralph and Felix grabbing attention from onlookers on the way, especially since another Bad Guy was added into the mix. They must have been thinking Felix had fallen in with the bad crowd, but at the same time he still had his innocent charm about him.

* * *

"Excuse me," Turbo said as casually as possible. As casually as you can talk to a living skeleton you've seen for the first time, anyways. _Nope.. Come on legs, don't fail me here. _They were at the outskirts of one of the villages, the closest one to the woods Turbo had left out of. He had spent a while steeling his nerves enough to talk to one of the village's inhabitants.

"What's up Grey-Man?" the skeleton asked, looking down to him, "Haven't seen you around here before."

"Y-yeah, I'm from a different game.." Turbo said before clearing his throat, fighting the urge to turn tail and run all the while, "You see, I'm looking for whoever is in charge of this place. A 'friend' of mine is stuck in a web in the woods back there.. I hate to say it, but I need him for my game to continue existing."

"You'd be looking for Sorceress in that case," the skeleton said, raising its bony hand to its jaw, making a thoughtful pose, "She should be back the way you came out, on the other end of the forest and at the castle. Well, unless she's at the cemetery.."

"Ugh," Turbo said with a heavy, bitter sigh, "Alright, well thanks for the help I guess." _The things I go through for Turbo Time's continued existence. Who knows **what** I'll have to do in order to deal with RoadBlasters.. Greatest racer ever here, and some flashy game comes along to steal my glory._ His blood began to boil again as he slowly headed back to the woods. _Litwak just had to put that console right in front of **my** game. What the hell is that man thinking? You don't put new competition directly in front of your best performing game. **My** game._

"Be careful of the spiders!" the skeleton called out to him, "Their saliva is acidic!"

"What?!" Turbo asked, turning around in shock, "Turbo-tastic!" He turned back to the woods. _I had one of those on my **foot**! I walked and ran around so many of those little buggers! I could have **died**!_ He spotted a glimmer of light slowly coming towards him from the woods. _That little ball of light is back for more, is he?_ He started walking towards it as intimidatingly as he could muster. _Bring it on you little- I hope there's no spiders around.._ He stopped. _Wait, what would I even **do** to a ball of light? _He sighed in frustration and crossed his arms, then decided to go that way regardless. _I've been fine so far.. And I can't do anything but go back anyways._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Roxie will be showing up again soon, don't worry.


	8. Provocation

Turbo threw caution to the wind and stomped his way back to the woods, making his way to the ball of light that seemingly mocked him. _Just you wait. If I can grab onto you, then you'll wish I couldn't, that much I'm certain of._ "This is one Turbo-tastic day I'm having," he said bitterly.

"That you, Turbo?" Jet asked. _Stupid question, really. Of course it's him. Nobody else says 'Turbo-tastic' unless it's maybe to imitate him._

The twins and Sorceress finally closed the distance between them and the very perturbed Turbo.

Turbo narrowed his eyes as they met and extended a hand in a demanding manner, ready to receive his keys. To this, Set rolled his eyes and returned them without further hassle.

"You really should lighten up, Turbo," Set said in the nicest way he could muster, "You take these jokes way too seriously. You'll go crazy one of these days." _You should be __**happy**__. I'm giving you a distraction from RoadBlasters._

With lightning fast speed, Turbo placed his keys into his pocket and crossed his arms, allowing his gaze to fall upon Sorceress who was floating there, analyzing the situation. "So I'm guessing you must be the one I was looking for," he said coldly, "You should keep a better leash on these spiders if they're so dangerous. I could've died, you know?"

Sorceress furrowed her brow at this, deciding how she should respond to that. Set found it sexy, and tried to hide the toothy grin forming on his face. "You know, that's quite rude for someone who comes to someone else's game unannounced," she said, her words were laced with tranquil fury. _I was wondering what kind of person you might be, since you're the lead character in the most popular game in the arcade. I can't say that I'm impressed._ "Before you blame my pets, blame **yourself** for trespassing in their nesting grounds."

"Sorry about that, Sorceress," Set said as he finally managed to remove all trace of happiness, "It was my fault." _Urgh.. Those words sound so __**wrong**__ coming out of my mouth. But I'm sure she would appreciate the words, even if they ring hollow in my ears._

Sorceress sighed an annoyed sigh as Turbo shrugged callously. _How can anyone enjoy being around this guy?_ "I'm going to have to ask you three to leave," she said seriously, "This place isn't safe, and I don't appreciate your friend's attitude."

"Oh trust me," Set said, "He's not my friend. We just have a mutual need for each other's existence. Our game depends on it."

"My sentiments exactly," Turbo scoffed, "Listen lady, you don't have to worry about me coming back to this stupid game unless this guy steals my property and comes hiding in here again." _Oh look at me, I can float around and cast __**spells**__! Next time why don't you cast a spell to __keep your pets in line?_

"Geez, Turbo," Set said chidingly, "You need to calm that temper of yours. Just because our game finally has some competition doesn't mean you can treat people like that. I think you ought to apologize now before it's too late." _I think I might actually puke if I keep this up._

"Too late for what, huh?!" Turbo asked angrily, "What are **you** going to do, lady? Are you going to **kill** me? Add my name to your little cemetery filled with balls of light that trick travelers into spider dens, hmm? 'Here lies Turbo, the **greatest racer** **ever**!'. Oh! Maybe people would flock to **your** game for once then?!" _Oh, I'm just getting __**started**__ with you._

Set furrowed his brow, actually livid at Turbo's provocations. Without thinking he sent a fist barreling into Turbo's face, breaking his nose and knocking him onto the ground. _You're digging your own grave, you moron. Maybe even in the literal sense. _"Do you think this is a **joke**, Turbo?!" he asked, "Are you **trying** to get our game unplugged?!"

Turbo winced as he carefully assessed the damage with his now dirty hand. "Oh, you're going to **regret** that!" he said angrily as he struggled to stand up, droplets of blood slowly trickled from his nose. _You've got it coming now. Just you wait until I get up._

"**Out**.." Sorceress warned, "**Don't** make me say it again." _If I have to say it again, I don't exactly know what I'll do, but I hope I won't have to find out._

Turbo looked at her incredulously. _You wouldn't dare. I know your type._

"**Why** can't you two get along?" Jet asked with a frustrated sigh, "You're **both** going to get our game unplugged at this rate." _Really, you __**are**__._

Turbo and Set both gave Jet blank, skeptical stares as if to say, "I won't, but maybe **he** will."

"I said **out**," Sorceress warned again. She charged up the first spell that came to mind. _Not one I can use on visitors.._

"Come on, Turbo," Jet said, "We'll get you fixed up.." _Honestly I don't know how to calm him down when he's like this.._

Turbo scoffed, "Get us out of here, will you? **I** don't know the way, it's **your** game." _Just you __**wait**__ until we're back in __my__ game, Set._

Sorceress huffed and put away the high level lightning spell. _I shouldn't have __picked that one__ to begin with. __I'm not one for attacking someone in the first place__._ She led the way out of the woods without a word between the four, that is until Set opened his mouth.

"Sorry about all this," Set said, "Tensions are just running high right now." _This woman is just too good to believe.._

"Understatement of the quinquennium," Turbo said bitterly as he held his nose shut to stop the bleeding. _I'm still going to knock you senseless when we get to my game. I don't want to risk you getting a game over out __**here**__._ As the three glanced back at him he rolled his eyes and added, "It's a period of five years. **I** didn't pick the name for it." _You think I'm making this up?_

Jet sighed heavily. _Things are just __**not **__going well._

They made it out of the woods and went **around** the rainy area and to the exit.

"I'll get a head start with Turbo," Jet said cautiously, "I want you two as far apart as possible right now.." _I don't feel right leaving Set alone with Sorceress __though__. I can't trust him to not get himself killed somehow, even though Sorceress isn't the type to attack people on mere provocation. I feel like __I'm bringing the __wolf across first while leaving behind the chicken and grain.. Except in this case the wolf wants to eat the grain too. __And the grain can defend itself with ease._

Turbo scoffed and the two left. _Whether I knock Set flat now or later is unimportant. And __I need to get this nose taken care of._

Set sighed and slumped against the side of the exit. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said in his most apologetic tone. _I've apologized three times today. That's three times in my life.. Well actually I'm sure I must have said it a few other times. But none of those times come to mind._

Sorceress crossed her arms and said, "I don't blame you for getting angry at him, but I don't condone violence." _I don't know how I would have gotten that guy to leave if I had to do it myself.._

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I came back some other time?.." Set asked. He chuckled. "I wouldn't bring him with me, of course."

"Why did you steal his keys?" Sorceress asked, ignoring his question.

"He needs a distraction right now," Set said with a weak smile, "You know that game that just got plugged in, right? RoadBlasters.. It's put our game in a bit of a rut. And it's only been here a day. It's why Turbo lashed out like that."

"It seems to me like he lashed out because of **you**," Sorceress said. _Distraction my ears._ "That game might have played some part, but you only made it worse."

"It wasn't my intention," Set said, "I'm programmed to be a prankster as much as a racer, it's embedded into my code as deeply as breathing is." _Why am I telling __her that__? I shouldn't be telling her I'm a prankster. That dialogue tree can't be good for the ending I have planned.._ "You can't change the program.." _Just made it worse. Crap.._

"Maybe not during gameplay," Sorceress said firmly, "But I don't believe for one second that your entire way of life is decided for you." _I'm living.. I'm __**undead**__ proof of that._

"You say that," Set said with a chuckle. _Maybe I can turn this bad dialogue choice around after all. I'll let her 'convince' me. Yeah, that's it. I'll have her act as my mentor, and she'll be mine before she knows it. _"It's not so easy, you know? I just get this impulse that I can't ignore.. It's not like I **want** to hurt anyone."

"You're giving up too easily," Sorceress said sincerely as she sat on a nearby boulder, crossing her legs.

"Maybe," Set said, lacing his voice with feigned humility, "It's just so easy to get pulled into.. How do you keep so calm? When Turbo was mouthing off at you, I just.." _Bam! Right in the __nose__, haha! __Although it's true, he pissed me off._

"I just have self control," Sorceress said, "Just try not to let it get to you and eventually it won't get to you so much." _Like being avoided out in Game Central Station.._

"That's it?.. Well I guess it can't hurt to try.." Set said with a chuckle. _It feels like we can get stuck in this dialogue tree forever. Maybe I should just ask again and see what happens.._ "About my question before.. Would you mind if I come back? It's nice to have someone to talk to about this.." _I have to seem genuine about that otherwise she'll figure me out. That'll be one hell of a task. How do I plan to hide it from her forever?_

"I **suppose** you can come back.." Sorceress said, "But you have to promise to behave yourself. No pranks, and no violence." _H__aving someone to talk to isn't such a bad thing._

"You don't have to worry about me getting violent," Set said with a chuckle, "That's not normal for me. But pranking will be hard to stop.." _I'm wearing her down. I can't rush into this though. I feel like I'm setting up an elaborate design in dominoes._

"Only because you accept that as true," Sorceress said firmly, "It's self-fulfilling. Just try to stop, and see what happens."

"Alright, I'll **try**," Set said with a weak smile as he stood up and dusted himself off, "So I'll see you tomorrow?" _Did I save it?_

"I guess that would be okay," Sorceress said with a reserved smile. _I guess he doesn't have many friends if he wants to spend time talking to a Bad Girl. If he wouldn't prank people he might have more __though__.._

"Yes!" Set said victoriously with a fist pump. _Oh crap, I shouldn't act so excited. Backpedal, backpedal.._ He cleared his throat and gave her a nervous smile. "Sorry, I just finally have someone I can talk to about all this.. Anyways, I'll come back tomorrow." He ran out the exit of Blood and Thunder, bounding to Turbo Time. _Way to make yourself look like a complete idiot, Set. But if that's what it takes to make her like me, then so be it. __I guess it's time to go beat the snot out of Turdbo._

Sorceress chuckled. _He's certainly excited.._ She sighed. _I guess I'll go have a talk with my little pets._ She got up and floated back to the woods.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ah, the dreaded dialogue tree. So many times I've misclicked and chosen the wrong dialogue option..

In case you don't get the reference Jet is making with the wolf, chicken, and grain.. It's a riddle where you can only bring one thing across a river at a time. Unless you pick the right order, one that was left behind would eat the other.


	9. Kill Screen

"I thought for sure Adon was going to win," Ralph said as he leaned back in the mostly empty stands in Street Fighter, where the Bad Guys and Felix were sitting, "So, Zangief. I hate to pry, but I was wondering.." _Forgive me for asking.._

"Ask away," Zangief said while raising a brow.

"If you're not a playable character, or otherwise shown in the game, how come you came with it?" Ralph asked, "I don't really mean anything by that. It just strikes me as odd. I've always wondered how that works." _I__t's not the first case of extra people or things being in a game by far. Even the Nicelanders' homes are fully furnished by default._

"I ask that question to myself often," Zangief said, "It does not make sense, but it is better than not being here, no?" He chuckled. _I have no role in game, but still I am treated like Bad Guy. Something wrong with this picture, but things __are __get__ting__ better. E__specially__ today._

"Well we're **glad** you came with the game," Felix said cheerfully, "You're a good guy to **us**, Zangief." _This sure beats being coddled by the Nicelanders. They mean well, but jeepers. They go overboard sometimes._

"I appreciate that," Zangief said with a chuckle.

"Next challenger!" an announcer's voice rang out.

After a moment of nobody jumping onto the stage, Zangief said with a smile, "I guess it is my turn." He jumped out of the stands, did a few flips in the air and landed on his feet on the stage. "Come."

"Geki vs. Zangief!.. Round 1! Fight!" the announcer's voice rang out again.

While watching the fight unfold, Ralph said, "He's pretty good." _I could probably take him if that's all he's got though._

"Think you could take him?" Felix asked cheerfully, "I've never seen you in an actual fight."

"You mean since all I ever do is smash up a building and drop bricks on you?" Ralph asked with a chuckle, "I **probably** could. Over a decade of living alone in the woods and living in a stump can really toughen a person up. Lucky me, otherwise I'd probably **die** when the Nicelanders throw me off the building at the end of every level." _And into mud.._ _I don't mean to sound so bitter about it._

"Right.." Felix said nervously. _Sorry, Ralph.._

"Round 2! Fight!" the announcer's voice rang out again after Zangief won the first round.

"Don't worry about it," Ralph said, "It's in the past." _Having a friend after 5 years of being avoided is pretty nice. I shouldn't ruin it by holding a grudge. They're programmed to throw me off the building anyway._

* * *

"You sure as hell had better have waxed my car," Turbo said bitterly as he and Jet walked across Game Central Station towards Turbo Time. He was still pinching his nose to keep blood from dripping onto his outfit. _Otherwise you may just lose what little respect you've earned from me today._

"I did," Jet said while rolling his eyes, "Not like it matters, you know? The first quarter alert would have done it anyway." _You're just wasting my time with that._

"That's no excuse to leave a car in imperfect condition," Turbo said bitterly, "And you need to keep a better handle on your brother. I'll **kill** him, you know?" _This time I don't think I'm joking._

"You very well might.." Jet said dryly, "But at least do it in Turbo Time."

"I'm not so foolish as to get our game unplugged," Turbo said, "Who do you take me for?"

Jet swallowed hard. _If only you knew.. If he __**knew**__ though, would it change anything? __I guess t__he simple act of knowing __about __the future changes things, but would it be a good change or a bad change? No.. It's too risky. 30 years worth of too risky._

Turbo sighed as they stepped into a set of small, dinky mine carts which were shaped like race cars and went inside their game. _Stupid mine carts. Why can't we just have real cars?_

Their blood ran cold when they finally got inside.

"What the hell is **this**?!" Turbo asked angrily as he looked around the inside of Turbo Time. _No.. No no __**no**__!_

Random lines of multi-colored code were rapidly flying and glitching around. The entire world shook violently, with the ground shifting up and down in blocks. Occasionally everything would go black for a few seconds and their limbs would seemingly detach and reattach themselves, though there was thankfully no pain from it.

"No!" Jet yelled in a distraught tone, "This **can't** be happening.." He fell to the ground, weak at the knees. The violently shaking terrain only made it worse. _This never happened! Someone __**did**__ this to us.. There has to be.. How can we fix this? __**Can**__ we fix this?!_

Jet and Turbo's eyes caught a string of code passing by that read, "A GAME FOR A GAME."

"A game for a game?!" Turbo asked angrily, "Do you know something about this, Jet?! **You** were here last!" _You've been acting strange lately as well.._ He narrowed his eyes at Jet in suspicion.

"I-it was fine when I left!" Jet said anxiously, "A-anyway we have to do something about this or our game will get unplugged in the morning!" _Think think think.. _He pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, shutting his eyes tightly. _Forget about who may have done this for now. I can tell William about it once our game is safe. Sonny.. I need to find __**Sonny**__!_

"Well isn't this **Turbo-tastic**?!" Turbo asked with all the frustrated anger in the world, "And where are **you** going?!" _Did __**you**__ do this?!_

"I'm going find someone who I think can **help**!" Jet said anxiously, "**Don't** do anything rash!" _What the hell am I going to do? Someone is out to get us.._

Turbo clenched his teeth. _No, he probably didn't do this.. It would be too obvious. I'd better get out of here as well before the game shuts down or something._

Turbo left Turbo Time a short while after Jet.

"Don't bother going in there," Turbo said frustratedly as he crossed his arms. There was a look of pure hatred in his eyes. "**Someone** screwed up our game. It's a disaster area." _I'd blame **you** if it made sense to do so. But you were stuck in a web the entire time._

Set's grin instantly vanished and he angrily asked, "**What**?! **Who**?! **Someone** needs to game over for this. Where's Jet?"_ He might know something about this if he's not with Turbo anymore._

"I don't know what he's thinking, but he says he's going find someone who can help," Turbo said while rolling his eyes, "If it means our game survives, let him do what he wants. We can settle **our** little problem later."

"Do you think maybe it's the guys from RoadBlasters?" Set asked while clenching his fists tightly, "This happens the day their game gets plugged in. Don't you think that's suspicious?"

"It hadn't occurred to me, but you're right for a change," Turbo said bitterly, "**Shall** we?"

"Let's **shall**.." Set said bitterly.

The two made their way to RoadBlasters.

* * *

"Paperboy. Here it is.." Jet said anxiously to himself as he went inside. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his nerves so he could think more clearly, though it wasn't helping as much as he would have liked. _'A game for a game.'.. _He tapped his foot nervously. _It can really only be someone from 4 games then, couldn't it? Food Fight, Agent X, Star Wars, or Battlezone.. But how would __**they**__ know unless they also came back whichever way I did? Or is it something else? RoadBlasters wouldn't be the cause, would it? One game getting unplugged after a new game comes in? It could have that meaning.. But it doesn't make as much sense. I've only met Roxie, and she seemed reasonable, even though I was a bit rude with her.. __That's the only variable that changed there, isn't it? No, it can't be someone from RoadBlasters.._

Jet carefully got out of the mine cart and went into the neighborhood. _Just how exactly am I going to find __Sonny__ in this place?_ He walked for a while, eventually seeing someone with a jackhammer in the street. _What's he even doing? No, not important.._ "Excuse me, have you seen a man named Sonny recently?" he asked nervously.

"He left a while ago," the man said, "Probably went to Tapper's."

"Alright, thanks," Jet said with a nod. _I guess I __**should**__ have checked there first. _He left the game immediately, but not before noticing a tornado touch down and start following a kid on a bike. _Let's __**not**__ come here again..  
_

Jet headed to Tapper's in hopes of finding Sonny.

* * *

"So **this** is the game stealing all of my players," Turbo said bitterly. _And possibly the one responsible for sabotaging my game is here as well.._

"Actually, this might not be the smartest of moves," Set said contemplatively, "This is their home turf. We don't know **how** they screwed up our game, if it's even them. _We should take a more low key approach to this if we're going to get them back. I didn't even see what it looks like.._

"It's called information gathering," Turbo said bitterly while rolling his eyes, "I still owe you a game over, by the way. Don't think I've forgotten that for an instant. This is just more important.. We'll ask around. If they wanted us dead, they could have probably left a death trap or something." _Looks like we have a long ways to walk though, what the __**hell**__? There's no cars or anything around. __We could be walking for hours and still not make it there, probably._

The two argued for a few minutes until Roxie's red car spawned at the entrance.

"Let **me** handle this," Turbo said while narrowing his eyes at the car. _You stay out of my way, Set. At least my nose stopped bleeding. Now. Who is this guy, and are they responsible?_

* * *

**Author's Note: **I tried to portray a kill screen from the perspective of inside the game. I hope it came across well enough.

I did realize that Zangief isn't in Street Fighter, by the way ;). I just wanted to include him anyway, haha. The way I see it, if there are things like restrooms in Pac-Man, then why not have extra characters not actually programmed into the game? Let's just say he was an idea that somehow slipped in without the developers even realizing it.

I've decided to update this story a bit more often. I'm still deciding just how much more often though, as it takes time away from my other story I'm working on, 'The Honeyglow Surge'.


	10. When Turbo Met Roxie

**Author's Note:** Sorry about cutting it off there last chapter, Dixie xD.

* * *

Turbo heaved a deep, relaxing breath before slowly walking to the red sports car. _As much as I'd like to wring this person's neck, I have to keep in mind a few things.. One, they could __**possibly**__ be innocent. Two, if I die here, it's game over for good. And three, wringing people's necks won't get me the information I need. I would smile if I thought that would help, but honestly, now is no time for smiling anyhow._ He cleared his throat softly as he finally made it to the car. _It's a woman, huh? _He crossed his arms. _Okay, slight change of plans.._

Roxie reluctantly rolled the window down as she noticed the short grey man. _What is it this time?_ "Yes?" she asked as she raised a brow, "I'm guessing that you must be.. Turbo." _You're a bit different than Jet, so you can't be him or his brother.._

"Well that settles half of the introductions," Turbo said, "Honestly I'm not surprised you've heard of me already." _Ignoring Set entirely.._

"So I'm assuming that you've got your keys back then," Roxie said with a slight smirk, "So is **he** Jet, or the brother he spoke of?" _You're a bit full of yourself, aren't you __Turbo__?_

Turbo rolled his eyes and sighed disgruntledly. _What have you been saying about me, Jet? __And why exactly did you come here?__ Whatever. __M__oving on._ "Yes. **That guy** is Set.. I'm afraid you have me at a bit of a disadvantage here, Miss..?" _Surely you must realize by now I don't know what to call you. Speak up now, don't be shy. Though I suppose she's likely not to be the shy type. What is it about redheads?_

"Roxie," she said plainly as she took her sunglasses off and placed them in a cup holder. _That makes three outsiders I've met today. All short and grey. Though since they're all from the same game I guess that makes sense._

"Alright, Roxie," Turbo said with a slight nod, "I was wondering if you maybe saw anyone acting suspiciously around here, like they had maybe done something heinous and were afraid of being caught.."_ Probably not, judging from the looks of things._

"I'm afraid not," Roxie said, "What happened this time?" _First your keys get stolen, now someone did something __'__heinous__'__._

"It's nothing to scoff about this time, unfortunately," Turbo said with a sigh. _As if my keys getting stolen __**is**__.._ "Hopefully we can do something about it before morning, but someone put a kill screen on our game and we'd like to find out who is responsible. And get it fixed, naturally.." _I see no point in hiding this much. She doesn't __**seem**__ to be the perpetrator. If she is though, she may give herself away.._

"Is that even possible? Is it common?" Roxie asked worriedly, "My game hasn't even been plugged in a day and this sort of thing is happening already.." _I hope nobody comes in __**here**__ and does that.._

"It's possible, apparently," Turbo said as he furrowed his brow contemplatively. _Look at me talking to the freakin' enemy so casually.. This game is likely to get my game unplugged regardless __of the kill screen__ and I'm here playing nice. What's __**wrong**__ with me? Well she __does __**seem**__ legitimately concerned, so why the hell not? __At least for now. __She's lucky she's a woman otherwise I'd be far more cross.._

"Are you **sure** your game isn't just bugging out?" Roxie asked, "How can you be so sure that someone did it?"

"**Well**, when a line of code floats around with the words, '**A GAME FOR A GAME**.' on it, what other conclusion can one come to?" Turbo asked bitterly. _Do you think that we're too stupid to notice when it's just our game acting up?_ _Forget what I thought a while ago._ "Until now Turbo Time has performed flawlessly."

"In that case it sounds like you pissed someone off.." Roxie said, "I think you would be best starting there, rather than blaming it on **my** game." _That __**is**__ why you're here, right? My game shows up and yours gets a kill screen on it. I suppose that is a bit much for coincidence._

"Oh? And just who is blaming you?" Turbo asked while cocking a brow. _I still can't be so sure of your innocence, but I suppose it __**could**__ be someone whose game got unplugged.. The Q*bert gang seems a little harmless though. No idea where the Asteroids or Centipede guys went. Maybe it's one of them.. But my popularity had nothing to do with what happened to those games, so not really. I'm honestly at a loss here._

"Aren't **you**?" Roxie asked in an annoyed, knowing tone, "And could you back up just a little bit? I don't like anyone getting close to my car."

"You're just like him," Set said with a laugh, "Honestly.." _Although I'll admit, she's not as bad as he is about __that__._

"No one asked you," Turbo said bitterly as he turned to face Set. He sighed as he uncrossed his arms before backing up. He turned his attention back to Roxie and put his hands in the pockets of his red and white jumpsuit. _I hate people getting close to my car too. Jet is an exception because it was his punishment for getting cocky._ "Truth be told, yes, I did think it was someone from this game who did it. Possibly even you. But I suppose that may not be the case after all."

"Well that narrows it down by one game," Set said callously, "You stay here with the girl if you want, I'm going look for Jet." _As fun as it'd be to stick around here and watch him squirm, I've got more important things to worry about than stand around and watch Turbo talk to a chick._

"The girl," Roxie said mockingly with a sigh as she spit her gum out of the window. "Like hell.. So I couldn't get a straight answer out of Jet earlier. What's it like out there?"

"You haven't even left the game yet, have you?" Turbo asked with an incredulous smirk. _Maybe I will play nice a while longer.._ _There's nothing I can do about the damn kill screen. I may as well have some fun here. Good luck, Jet. I hope your __'__helper__' __can fix it._

"No.." Roxie said as she narrowed her eyes, "Why should I have to?" _Admittedly I could have left any time.._

"Well you're **obviously** curious about it," Turbo said while rolling his eyes, "All you have to do is get on the train and leave." _Who doesn't leave their game at the first opportunity? As much as I love to race, I'd __have __die__d__ of curiosity if I __ha__dn't check__ed__ out my new dominion __right away__._

"Didn't feel like it," Roxie said with a slight shrug, "I suppose you can say I'm stubborn." _Here you are, starting to hit on me when your game is at risk of getting unplugged.. Shouldn't you take that a __**bit**__ more seriously?_

"You're stubborn," Turbo scoffed, "Look, I can show you around, I guess. Since I'm such a nice guy." _Look, we both know where I'm going with this. You want to stretch your legs or not?_

"You couldn't make your motives more obvious if you tried," Roxie said dryly. _You're not sizing up to be my type at all. You must realize that.._

"Who says I'm concealing them?" Turbo asked wryly, "Look. Do you want to be shown around the arcade or not?" _It wouldn't be the __very__ first time I get turned down. You think there aren't other girls in this arcade? I__ don't__ even know why I'm __stupidly __overlook__ing the fact that you're from a game that could get mine unplugged soon. Well, either way..  
_

* * *

"Sonny, there you are.." Jet said with bated breath as he approached Sonny in Tapper's and took a seat next to him, "I need your help. I mean I really **need** your help.." _Regardless of what you think of me, at least hear me out. It's important._

Sonny gulped down half of his root beer and said, "Look, if it's about before.." _I already told you I'm not going to stick my neck out for this. You think people will take kindly to you shaking up the status quo?_

"It's not.." Jet said with a sigh as he stroked his forehead, "At least not directly.." He clenched his teeth before lowering his voice. _I'll likely end up ruining things with this.._ "Someone put a kill screen on our game a while ago.. I don't know **who** did it, but if anyone can **fix** it, it's you, right?"

"Really?" Sonny asked apprehensively as he stared at the side of his mug on the counter as he stroked it, "How do you know someone did it, and that the game isn't just acting up? It happens sometimes, you know?" _First you tell me that Turbo can't be trusted with the Konami Code, now your game has a kill screen on it and you say that __**someone did it**__. What have you been getting yourself into? As far as I knew, I was the only one in this arcade who knows the Konami Code. I haven't even told Bobby.. So what's going on? Surely it's just the game malfunctioning.._

"You can see for yourself when you get there.." Jet said earnestly, "Please, Sonny.." _If our game gets unplugged now.._

"Alright, fine," Sonny said begrudgingly, "Just don't spread it around.." _It's not like I can't sympathize.._

Jet heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you.."

"Don't thank me. At least not yet," Sonny said dryly, "I don't know for sure I can fix it for you.." He finished his root beer and the two set off to Turbo Time.

* * *

"What strength! But don't forget that there are guys like you all over the world," Geki said begrudgingly as he slowly stood up from being defeated by Zangief. It was said half as a joke, as the line was scripted to be given by the loser of a match.

"It is something I never forget," Zangief said with a laugh before leaving the stage and returning to the stands. _No need to show off further. Too easy to crush man's skull like sparrow's egg between thighs._

"Jaminy," Felix said with a chuckle, "I don't think I've seen anything quite like that." _Street Fighter hasn't been here that long either. Not that the Nicelanders would appreciate me coming to 'a game like this'._

"It is no big surprise," Zangief said with a laugh, "Our game has been here only less than a month." _You do not strike me as being a fighter type in first place. Would be funny to see him fight._

"Sorry guys, I think I'm gonna have to go," Ralph said with a sheepish chuckle, "That root beer is really doing a number on me." _I need to go lie down.._

"Effects of drinking contest!" Zangief said with a laugh. _I was wondering when it would hit full force._

"It hit me a bit later than I expected," Ralph said with a laugh, "I'll see you guys later.."_ Hey, at least I accomplished what I meant to with that contest. Although it almost seemed like Gene gave up too easily._

"W-wait, Ralph," Felix said warmly, "I'll go with you. Later, Zangief." _The Nicelanders are likely to be worried sick by now._

"Farewell," Zangief said with a smile. _Today is good day. I wonder what Clyde is doing.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, it could have gone much worse for a first meeting.


	11. Smile

"It **would** help to have someone show me around," Roxie said reluctantly, "But you **clearly** have some expectations with that offer." _I'm a piece of meat to you, aren't I?_

"You let **me** worry about those expectations," Turbo said with a laugh, "Come on, I need to get this kill screen off my mind too, you know? Jet has someone who may be able to fix it, but I'm still worried sick about it." _I wonder who Jet has in mind. Felix? He can fix things really well, but a game's code? How would he know what to do? I can't help but think Jet knows something I don't.._

"You don't show it," Roxie said as she shooed him back further and got our of her car. _And he eyes me up instantly.._ It was nearly impossible to see when she was in her car, but she was wearing tight blue jeans, a white t-shirt and brown leather jacket.

"That's just how I am," Turbo said wryly as the two headed to the exit of RoadBlasters. _RoadBlasters isn't going anywhere, I might as well get something **good** out of it. Those jeans.._ "Now, what sort of things are you into? We have a decent selection of games here in Litwak's arcade." _For the most part, at least. We could still use a lot more that don't suck._

Roxie sighed as the two got into the train leading to Game Central Station. _I get it already, I'm beautiful. Let me bring up the kill screen again. Maybe that will get you to wise up. _"I'd be most interested in seeing Turbo Time since it's a racing game, but I'm guessing with a **kill screen **on it, that will have to wait." She cocked a brow and waited for his reaction. _What'll it be?_

"Yes.." Turbo said in a bittersweet tone, "So **aside** from a racing game?" _Of **course** she wants to check out my game.._ _How the hell do you put a kill screen on a game though? How do you take it off after? This is really eating me up.._

Roxie sighed and contemplatively leaned against the back of her seat in the train. _Maybe I'm being a bit too unreasonable, bringing up the state of his game like that. I'm competition for his game on top of that, so I really shouldn't add hostility to it.. I'd just like him to stop looking at me like he's a lion checking out his next meal.. So what else am I interested in? Guns and knives of course, but I'd rather not put myself at risk by going to a war game or something along those lines._

"Shall I list a few for you?" Turbo asked teasingly, "You seem to be having difficulty deciding." _Come on girl, cheer up. You're sitting here alone with the greatest racer ever._

"By all means," Roxie said tiredly as she unwrapped another piece of gum and put it in her mouth before crossing her arms. _Jet explained what a few are like, but it would help to have something more thorough. His mood recovers fast.._

"Well," Turbo said with a wry grin, "There's Food Fight.. Despite its name, it's actually a five star restaurant. Pac-Man is another one of our oldest.. It's been plugged in as long as mine. Just like a few others.." _She wouldn't know what these games are about though, would she?_

"So what is Pac-Man about?" Roxie asked. _So Turbo Time has been here a while. I bet that fuels his already inflated ego.._

"Well, it's named after the character players play as," Turbo said plainly, "He's this giant yellow ball with a mouth. He goes around eating dots and fruit while avoiding four colored ghosts.. Very **large** fruit. Aside from that, the place bores me." _I'm actually quite hungry, now that I think about it._

"Okay, then skip to some that you think **aren't** boring and we'll start from there," Roxie said with a sigh. _How large is this fruit? I imagine that anything is large compared to him.. Oh, the train stopped. That was sooner than expected.._

"How about Tapper's then?" Turbo asked with a mischievous grin as the two left the train, "It's a bar, though it only has root beer. But the root beer is pretty damn good." _We make do with what we have.._

"Root beer.." Roxie scoffed, "Fine, I suppose it's a start." _Rather than thirsty, I'm a bit hungry, but good luck trying to get me to go to a restaurant with you. A bar is a bit much too, but I guess it's too late to change my mind._

"So here we are," Turbo said excitedly, "Game Central Station." _Take in the sights, come on, smile. It only takes 17 muscles to smile and you rarely use them._"So? What do you think?"

Roxie cocked a brow interestedly as she took a few small, casual steps towards the gateway's exit, watching various game characters walk by.

"Oh, and let me warn you ahead of time," Turbo said with a toothy grin. _As funny as it would be to see you freak out when you step out of the gateway.._

"What?" Roxie asked half-worriedly as she stopped and turned to face him. She rolled her eyes in an annoyed fashion and crossed her arms. _Make it quick._ _What **else** do I have to be on the look out for?_

"Since this will be your first time leaving your game, this annoying guy made of electricity will definitely show up and ask you a few annoying questions," Turbo said in a playfully annoyed tone, "He's accompanied by an alarm as well, I figured I would save you some embarrassment." _Although a look of surprise on her face wouldn't be so bad either. It'd be better than the bored expression she's been wearing almost this entire time. She's a tough one to crack, but that's fine.._

"You're full of it," Roxie said in a knowing tone as she narrowed her eyes down at him, "You're desperate to stay on my good side. That's the **real** reason, isn't it?" _Save me from embarrassment? Like hell.._ _I bet you think you're going to make me fall for you, you little grey man with the big ego._

"Now now, Roxie," Turbo said with a laugh, "I would never be **desperate**, but you're definitely proving to be my type."

"You're not mine," Roxie said dryly, "You're too short and too full of yourself.. And too **grey**." _I could have been nice about this, but screw that. This guy is really getting on my nerves._

"Oh, now that's **more** than a little offensive," Turbo said wryly. _You'll ignore those shortcomings before long. They almost **always** do. I've locked onto your heart, Roxie. It's too late to escape the love machine now. _He took an overly polite tone with her. "Listen, Roxie. There's a certain thing called **manners** in this world. I don't know if they exist where you come from.."

"Save the speech. You're the last person who would be qualified to instruct someone on manners," Roxie said in an annoyed tone, "I'm using you for this tour, and that's the end of it. If you don't like that, you can **leave**. I don't need you." _In fact I would prefer that. Why am I still hanging out with you in the first place?__  
_

Turbo sighed, never letting the grin fall from his face. _You can be quite explosive too, can't you?_ "Tell me, Roxie.. Do you **ever** smile? You've done so maybe once that I've seen, and it's beginning to grate on my nerves. What is it that pisses you off so much, I wonder?" _Let me make it better for you._

"You just don't get it, do you?" Roxie scoffed, "You are so damn full of yourself that you can't even see it. It's exactly that kind of crap that makes it nearly impossible to 'smile' around here. And from the second I got out of my car you've been eyeing me up like I'm a piece of meat. Do you honestly expect me to fall for **you**? Let me tell **you** about manners, Turbo. You've got none, and that's **exactly** the reason someone must have put a kill screen on your game. It's **your** fault, Turbo." _This guy is really getting under my skin.._

Turbo gritted his teeth as he finally allowed himself to become angry. "Alright! I've been **far** more patient with you than any other woman I've ever met, but **that** is the last straw," he said bitterly. _If **that's** the way you want to play it.. _He clenched his fists at his sides and his nose began to bleed again slightly. _No.. I shouldn't get **that** angry._ He forced himself to relax as much as he could. "Listen here, **Roxie**. There is a reason for this ego of mine, and I guess I'll just have to **instruct** you on just why I have it. I am the greatest racer **ever**! Just ask any one person in this arcade and they'll gladly tell you! Eyeing you up? Perhaps I **am**. What do you expect a man to do when faced with those skin tight jeans of yours, hmm?" _I actually have less to list in that regard than I thought. Turbo-tastic.._

Roxie glared at him harshly, but let him continue talking. _Keep on._

"I may be short. I may be **grey**.." Turbo said bitterly, his tone soon growing prideful, "But **heartless** I am not. I'm not just in it for your looks or sex, what the hell do you take me for? I may have even had **several** relationships in the past that ended up going nowhere, but that's simply because no one was ever able to keep up with me.. But **you**! You're different from them already, Roxie." He scoffed somberly and slumped against the inside of the gateway. "I don't even know what the hell I'm saying anymore." _Seriously, what the hell did I just ramble on about? __This is the first woman I'm interested in that's actually gotten a rise out of me.. before getting undressed, at least. That Sorceress chick is a different case altogether, she simply pissed me off.  
_

"You're bleeding.." Roxie said dryly with a sigh. She scratched her head as she walked over to where he stood. "You really are impossible to decipher.." _I can't figure you out at_ _all.._

"Something like that would take years," Turbo said hoarsely, "You've known me all of what? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? That's hardly enough time to judge anybody's character, let alone **mine**." _I don't need this on top of a kill screen.._ He looked at her earnestly. "Is it really **so** bad to you? So what if I'm short? So what if I'm grey? I have a **heart**, you know? Sure I've been a bit on the perverse side, but that doesn't mean that it's all I want in a woman. In you.." _You've got my soul lit on fire.._ He sighed and looked at the floor in front of him. _This is the lowest I've been since getting plugged in._

Roxie sighed and reluctantly sat down beside him._ What the hell am I doing? _"If what you just said is true, then aside from my looks, what are you looking for that you found in me?" _This is ridiculous. There's no way this can work out.._

"A woman who can keep up with me," Turbo scoffed, "I don't mean that to sound sexist or anything, I realize it could be taken that way. But most women would have long since disappeared after an outburst like that. I can get.. angry, at times." He winced slightly and shook his head. "Often for the stupidest of reasons. Like a newer racing game getting plugged in directly across from mine. You could very well get my game unplugged, you know? If today was any indicator.. But still, I would be lying if I said I felt nothing when I met you.."_I don't know if my words are getting through to you or not.._

Roxie sat there quietly, listening to him rattle on. _You've got to be kidding me.. _She placed a few fingertips on her forehead as she leaned her head back against the cool metal of the gateway. _I guess he's 'human' after all.. I could get his game unplugged, not even counting the kill screen which might get fixed, and here I am accusing him of all sorts of crap. Although it was totally warranted at the time._ She scoffed to herself and shook her head before placing her other hand on his shoulder. _What am I doing?_ "I'm Roxie.."

"I'm Turbo," Turbo said with a slight smirk, "The greatest racer ever." _So do we have an accord?_

"You ruined it," Roxie said with a smirk. _Greatest racer ever.. I bet I could win in a race between us._

"Ah, a smile," Turbo said wryly, "I'm honored." _She's even more beautiful when she smiles. She should do it more often.. Way more often._

"Listen.." Roxie said with a sigh, "I'm not making any promises, but I guess I'll give you a chance.." _I'll admit you're an interesting guy.._

"One chance is all I need," Turbo said wryly. _You'll see._

"There's that ego again, you should restrain that," Roxie said with a sigh.

"I can't help it," Turbo said with a chuckle, "It's in my code." _Now this is the kind of attention I need, right here.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** That went differently than I thought it was going to when I first started writing it.


	12. Turbo Time Stadium

Once inside Turbo Time, Sonny took a good look around at all of the damage. _Yikes.._ He exhaled heavily and said, "I don't know what to tell you, Jet, but they **really** don't like you, whoever did this.." _And what does 'A GAME FOR A GAME' mean? Did they do something to someone else's game?_

"No kidding.." Jet said guiltily as he stroked his forehead. _Who did it though? If our game doesn't get unplugged, then what will they do next? I doubt that will be the end of it.. I doubt that would be the case even if our game does get unplugged. Once our game is unplugged, we would all be easy pickings.._

"I expect you to tell me everything after this," Sonny said seriously. _The entire arcade is at risk with someone so willing to do this to even one game. Is that why he said not to trust Turbo? Would Turbo have done something like this?.._

Jet sighed and crossed his arms. _If it's him it should be fine, right? In the future, Sonny has had the __power to alter any game he wants for the most part__ for decades and hasn't done anything wrong as far as any of us know.._ "Fine.." _At __wor__st he'll think I'm crazy __when I tell him._

"Alright, so lead the way to the code room," Sonny said with a sigh. _It's disorienting being out here.._

Jet froze. _Code room? I guess it would make sense to have the code stored away somewhere, but.._ "Sorry, I don't really know where it is.." _I can't let on that I don't know what the code room is all about. I warned him about Turbo so he thinks I know all about it.._ "We've never had to use it before.."

"Ookay.." Sonny said with a skeptical sigh. _You know about the Konami Code, but you've never even gone to your code room? I thought for sure someone must have improved the game to make it stay the most popular in this arcade for five straight years._ "So where would dead center of this game be?"

"The stadium, over this way.." Jet said after some thought before the two made their way there across the violently shaking ground, floating lines of code, and occasional complete darkness. _So 'code rooms' are dead center of each game, I guess.. I think I'm going to be sick if this continues._

"It would be out of player sight, naturally," Sonny said as they entered the circular stadium building which housed the similarly circular race track, "Especially since you guys have never been there. Take us as low as we can go in here. The most **secure** location you can think of." _Surely they would have explored every nook of their game over these 5 years.. __In my case it was even easier though, considering it was one of the few places with light in the game._

Jet scratched his head in thought as he half-aimlessly led Sonny lower into the brightly lit, white walled stadium building. _I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. I guess if it's a code room it would need some kind of security code to get in as well.. Come to think of it I faintly remember this weird door that __we __couldn't open. Maybe that's it._ "In that case it should be this way." _If I can remember how Set and I got there, anyways._

After a few minutes of getting lost, backtracking, and waiting through intermittent darkness, they came across a hallway littered with mines that had red lights blinking on them.

"They **really** don't like you," Sonny said with a sigh, "I highly doubt that simply walking over these will do." _They're probably motion-sensing mines.. I've come this far to help him, I might as well try to figure this out.._

"Would an explosion damage the code room?" Jet asked apprehensively, "Would it completely destroy the game?" _If that's the case they could have maybe timed it to explode __and be done with it.._

"Probably not," Sonny said while raising a brow, "If you want to walk into **explosions**, that's on **you**.. Just let me get the hell away first." _Are you crazy?_

"What? **No**!" Jet said dismissively, "Why would I walk into explosions?.. I'd throw something at them from as far away as possible." _Does he think I'm crazy already?_

"Throw what?" Sonny asked curiously. _Do you see something that I don't in this empty hallway?_

"Good question," Jet said with a sigh, "Odd that this place isn't shaking violently like everything else though.." _I almost didn't notice._

"The code room would of course be more stable than the rest of the game," Sonny said knowingly before narrowing his eyes, "So what did **you guys** do to some **other** game?" _'A GAME FOR A GAME' is hardly vague.._

"I have an idea about that, but I would like to fix this first," Jet said apprehensively, "I can explain it all when this is done.. Please?" _If I tell him now, he might not help. Even though he was reasonable during the Bad-Anon meeting before I got sent back here.._

"Fine, but if you lie to me.." Sonny said pointedly. _You can forget about me helping you ever again in that case. Whether your game gets unplugged or not._

"I won't.." Jet said earnestly, "There's no point in keeping it hidden anymore. Let's just back away from the mines first.." _I'm pretty sure I know which game it is now. Unless it's a red herring.. They didn't even show up to the Bad-Anon meeting though, so it makes sense for it to be them._

They walked to the other end of the hall and Jet threw his helmet towards the mines as hard as he could, making the mines explode, taking the nearby walls and ceiling down with it.

Jet coughed as the dust settled, his ears still ringing from the explosions. _Well, we haven't died.. __Rest in peace, helmet. You died so that I might live._

"**There** it is," Sonny said as he glitched in place briefly, clearing the dust from his hair, suit, and glasses, "This is your code room, right beyond these red glowing tubes." _The tubes were green in my game. I doubt that has any significance though._

"You're a glitch?" Jet asked curiously. _I guess glitching into mines wouldn't really have been an option though._

"Well no, not technically," Sonny said reluctantly, "I thought you knew more than you actually do.." He scratched his head. "I just did a fair amount of experimenting, that's all.." _Moving on to why we're here.._ "Let's just get this over with, we can have our question and answer session afterwards." _If we can even fix this._

* * *

Roxie sighed, looking out into Game Central Station again. _Everyone must be used to him yelling by now. I don't see anyone freaking out __or even paying any attention to us__._ "Honestly I don't know what to do with you, Turbo." _Yelling isn't going to get you anywhere with me. You're lucky I didn't beat your ass for the way you were talking to me._

"We'll think of something," Turbo said wryly as he briefly allowed his eyes to wander. _Those jeans. Thank the developers for those jeans.._

"Are you even taking this seriously?" Roxie asked tiredly, "That **really** gets on my nerves." _Maybe I made a mistake, agreeing to this so easily._

"Relax, I'm just messing around," Turbo scoffed while looking at his fingernails. He got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Roxie, I may be a bit of a pervert, but come on. We'll have **fun**." _Lots of fun. Just lighten up a bit._

"I sure as hell hope that's not your only idea of fun," Roxie said as she shook her head in an annoyed way and eyed Game Central Station yet again before standing up as well. _I guess he has a point about being short and grey, but all the same. It'll take getting used to, and like hell I'd do someone so soon.. __Let's just hurry up and go. _

"Of course not," Turbo said wryly, "It **is** pretty fun though, I'll have you know. And as the greatest racer ever, I know when to come **second**." _I've still yet to find the formula for making her smile. It's clearly not sex jokes._

Roxie scoffed. _I somehow doubt that._

"I bet you think **everything** about me is scaled down," Turbo said wryly. _Does that get your attention? Honestly, I should probably ease up about that. But she's got to adapt to my winning personality if this is going to work._

"Your ego certainly isn't," Roxie scoffed, "So are we going to this Tapper's place or not?" _That's one less thing to worry about, I guess.. But h__is sincerity from a moment ago __is all but gone now.. _

"After you, m'lady," Turbo said in an overly polite tone. _I suppose I could try a different approach. I don't need to piss off the one woman who doesn't shrink back when I lose my temper._

As Roxie crossed the threshold of the gateway to her game, the alarm sounded, accompanied by red lasers. _And there's the blue guy.._

"Name?" William asked as he eyed his clipboard. _Those jeans.. _He shook his head subtly._ Don't stare._

Roxie sighed, crossed her arms, and said, "Roxie Rhodes." _Let's get this over with._

"And where ya coming from?" William asked boredly. _New character of RoadBlasters, okay._

"**RoadBlasters**.. It's right there on the sign," Turbo said bitterly while shaking his head as he too crossed the gateway. _This is exactly why people don't like you, man._

"Just doing my job, sir," William said boredly. _I don't write the questions. I just ask them._

"Then do it in a **less** intrusive way," Turbo said bitterly, "People keep telling you this." _You act like you don't even have eyes._ "If you would spend less time doing **graffiti** and more time paying attention to your surroundings, you might understand the common man's plight of being forced to withstand your incessant and unnecessary questions." _Even though __**most**__ people only get stopped once or twice a week. I feel kind of bad for the Bad Guys, actually._

"Turbo, just shut up for a sec," Roxie said, "You're making this take longer. Even if you're right.." _Is that who put graffiti in there so soon?_

William sighed and said, "Look, you think I like doing this? I'm just doing my job, hot shot." _How'd he know I'm the one who does the graffiti? __I guess I'm not as subtle as I think._

"Well you're not doing it well enough," Turbo said bitterly, "Did you not even **see** someone go into my game and put up a **kill screen**?" _Where were you when __**that**__ happened?_

"Woah woah, hang on there for a second," William said worriedly, "**Kill screen**? Who did that? When did this happen? I can't be everywhere at the same time, you know?" _How did I miss something like that?_ He zipped away without another word to Turbo Time's gateway, fiddling with some kind of previously unseen control panel just inside.

"The most serious I've ever seen him," Turbo huffed. _I guess I could have told him about it sooner. But the guy is annoying as hell._

"You need to work on that temper too," Roxie said, "At least he's doing something seemingly productive rather than bothering us." _Shouldn't they have notified him first?_ "Should we see what that's about, or go to Tapper's? Doesn't matter to me." _Since his game is at risk.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Roxie's expectations may be set a bit high, trying to get Turbo to get a handle on his quirks.


	13. Being Genuine

"Hey, Taps," Set said with a disgruntled sigh, "You seen my brother around anywhere?" _He can't have gone too many places. He wasn't in Fix-It Felix Jr., so.._

"He just left with that Sonny fellow not long ago," Tapper said while wiping a mug, "I think they went back to your game." _Not so sure what all the fuss is about, but it's no business of mine._

"That's all I need to hear," Set said as he turned to leave before pausing, "..Thanks." _I might as well say that much. He's a useful guy to have on my side.. I don't have time to loiter._ He ran off to Turbo Time. _So Sonny is the guy who can fix the game? I knew there was something off about him.. And Jet __**knew**__. What else is he hiding?_

Tapper shrugged and continued to slide root beers to eager 'customers'. _Has Set ever said 'thanks' non-sarcastically before now?_

* * *

Inside Turbo Time after Set spent several minutes looking around aimlessly throughout his and Turbo's homes. He made sure to knock over several trophies in the process out of spite in Turbo's home before leaving. _I don't know how they didn't fall over in the first place with these damn earthquakes or whatever the hell you'd call them._

He was already halfway down into the stadium building, searching the rooms, when he heard several small explosions go off at once.

"The hell was that?!" Set asked in a worried, yet furious tone, "I'm on the right track!" _This is pissing me off. I never would have guessed being inside a game with a kill screen on it would be like this.. I hope that Sonny guy isn't screwing anything up worse __with those explosions__. We need this __**fixed**__. __What the hell __**are**__ we going to do if our game __rea__lly __**does**__ get unplugged? __I expected Jet to try and get Felix, but nope. Trust the mysterious wannabe lawyer.._

Set quickly descended lower into the building and noticed a section of the floor in the hallway he turned down had collapsed. "The hell?" he asked aloud to himself, still breathing heavily. _Well let me drop down and see what's up. _He peered down and saw Jet's severely damaged helmet. "Jet!" He dropped down without a second thought. _You'd better be alright, Jet! Wait, it's just his helmet.. Man I feel like an idiot, we're in our game here. He'd just regenerate __even if he did die__._

* * *

Sonny effortlessly entered the Konami Code into the control pad on the large, thick door between him and Turbo Time's code room while saying it aloud in the process, "Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start.." _Honestly, I somehow doubt __Jet knows __the code, but whatever. I'll say it this once __even though I have my misgivings about him._

The door buzzed twice and refused to open.

"Maybe I entered it wrong.." Sonny said confusedly. _Up Up. Down Down. Left Right. Left Right. B A Start.._

The door buzzed twice and refused to open.

"What's wrong?" Jet asked worriedly. _Up Up. Down Down. Left Right. Left Right. B A Start.. I should remember that. But why isn't the door opening __if that's supposed to be the right code__?_

"Well, so much for this idea," Sonny said with an annoyed sigh as he leaned against the tubes pulsating with red code, "Whoever did this must have changed the code to it." _That's the first thing I did in Paperboy after making myself part of the game, so it's no surprise._

"What? So that's it?" Jet asked defeatedly, "Isn't there **any** other way?"

"You could try every single possible combination.." Sonny said while cocking a brow, "But other than that, not really."

"Couldn't we bust it down?" Jet asked desperately, "Maybe Ralph could.." _I highly doubt it would be something like all B's.. It would take forever to figure out. We don't have that kind of time.._

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself with that," Sonny said while shaking his head, "Do you **really** think that mere punches would break down the only thing separating an intruder from tampering with the game?" _Sure the code may default to the same thing for every game, but unless the person has the code, they can't do anything. __Honestly this is the first time something like this has ever happened.._

"I think you're underestimating Ralph's **mere **punches.." Jet said in an uncertain tone. _If anyone can break it, it'd have to be Ralph._ _I don't know if he would help me though.._

Sonny sighed and said, "It's your call if you want to go find him, but I think it's a waste of time." _Why Ralph specifically? Sure he's a loose cannon who wrecks things, but still.. Well, actually I guess if anyone would be able to, he could. But I highly doubt anyone could._

"The hell?"Set could be heard asking, still breathing heavily, "Jet!" He dropped down without a second thought facing the other way, observing Jet's helmet.

Jet slapped his palm firmly against his forehead. _Not __**you**__.. You of all people shouldn't have knowledge of this.. Up Up. Down Down. Left Right. Left Right. B A Start.. I __**can't **__let myself forget__._ "I'm right here, Set.." he said reluctantly as he left the hallway leading to the code room, "I think we need Ralph's help for this as well.."

"Ralph?" Set asked skeptically. _Felix doesn't enter this at all?_

"We can't get this door to open.." Jet said with a sigh while scratching his head, "And if **anyone** can 'brute force' it open, It's him. We'll also need Felix to fix it after, now that I think about it. If it turns out that Ralph **can** bust the door down."

"I'm expecting answers, but I'm not really hearing any.." Set said pointedly. _It's not like you to keep hiding things from me like this. I get that it must be something important but still.._

"You and me both," Sonny said just as pointedly.

"I already **said** I'd tell you about it after.." Jet said, "Right now isn't the time." _I still don't know how much to say in regards to that either._

"I expect you to keep your word on that," Sonny said.

"Jet doesn't lie," Set said confidently, "He sucks at it anyway." _He could never even keep a secret from me. Until now, at least.._

"That doesn't mean he won't change his mind once it's fixed," Sonny said.

"No, I think it would be bad for all of us if I were to do that," Jet said earnestly, "Please, let's just go **now** before we run out of time?" _I don't know how long it will take to fix this. We can't afford to debate anything right now.._

"Might as well," Sonny said, "I've stuck my neck this far out.." _I'll never know what he's hiding if I don't follow along, I'm guessing._

Set looked at Sonny incredulously. _He's s__uspicious. What does he stand to gain from the until-now most popular game in the entire arcade staying in business?_

The three quickly started towards the exit of Turbo Time.

"Where's Turbo?" Jet asked worriedly, "He isn't doing anything dangerous, is he?" _I half expected him to stick around the entrance at least.. __I __**hope**__ he isn't going Turbo earlier than expected. I hope he doesn't go Turbo at all.._

"He was talking to that chick from the new game last I saw him," Set said with a laugh. _Honestly I shouldn't be laughing at a time like this.._ He furrowed his brow.

"**Talking**?" Jet asked seriously. _With __**Roxie**__?_

"Oh come off it, Jet," Set said while rolling his eyes, "You know he loves redheads.. Remember what's her name from Paperboy?" _Now that was uncomfortable to watch._

Sonny cocked a brow. _Redhead from Paperboy? He must mean Elena.._

"I think she's the one who put up with him the longest," Set said. _Why would anyone want to date someone who yells all the time __at the slightest provocation__? That's one of the reasons he's my prime target.. I may not like non-greys __much__, and prank them all the time, but he goes too far too often. Like being the self-proclaimed 'greatest racer ever' is any excuse.. __Sorceress is an exception to all this, naturally. I wonder if she could help out once our game is at least temporarily safe.._

"That's not good.." Jet said worriedly. _What is Turbo thinking? Did he never realize who the driver in RoadBlasters is when he went Turbo? Speculating right now is useless. Either way he's talking to her now. That's a step up from going Turbo, regardless of the outcome. __I hope.._

"Why? **You** wanted her?" Set asked with a laugh as they finally got to the exit. _Relax, you can try once she gets frustrated with Turbo. That is, if our game doesn't get __**unplugged**__.. Honestly I don't know what we would do in the event that happens._

"No.." Jet said seriously as they entered the race car-shaped mine carts and sat down. _Now I'm thinking about her again.. I don't have time to get distracted. I have __**30 years**__ to get distracted once this is all __over.._

* * *

"I should have told him first," Turbo said begrudgingly with a sigh, "Would you be disappointed if I said we should go to Tapper's? Honestly I don't think I could do much for the state of my game currently. He knows more than we do about it, likely.." _Even Jet is more reliable than me right now.._

"If that's what you say, let's go to Tapper's," Roxie said with a shrug. _He should take things seriously more often._

The two of them went to Tapper's.

"Tapperrrrr!" Turbo said with an excited grin as he took a seat against the wall, "Provide for me the finest sarsaparilla!.. That's root beer, by the way."

Tapper nodded in response. _Another girlfriend, I see. Maybe __**this**__ time.._

"So I figured," Roxie said with a nod as she sat across from him. Two root beers slid their way, stopping perfectly in front of them. _He's good.._

"So Roxie," Turbo said with a grin, "Since you've decided to give little ol' me a chance, care to tell me what sort of things interest you? Well, aside from racing, clearly." _I believe you know what holds my interest to __**some**__ degree by now._

"I suppose I could," Roxie said while spitting her gum out into a napkin and balling it up, "Guns and knives are of **some **interest.." _I don't know what kind of reaction you'll have to that._

"Yes, I've seen you shooting cars and the like.." Turbo said with a nod, "Since your console is right across from mine." _Guns mounted on cars. Of course kids would like that sort of thing. But my game still has that actual racing feel. It doesn't make sense that they would drop my game entirely.. _"Aside from that?"

"That upsets you a lot, doesn't it?" Roxie asked knowingly.

"Well I'm not going to lie. Litwak should have put it in a better spot," Turbo said with a twinge of bitterness, "Logically, it doesn't make sense to put a new game right next to your most popular game."

"Sorry.." Roxie said with a sigh, "It's not like I have any power over that." _So really I shouldn't have even apologized._

"Oh, relax.." Turbo said with a sigh, "I can't really say that though, I need to relax the most right now. I know I hide it well sometimes." He gulped down his glass of root beer in two long gulps.

"You really like root beer, I'm guessing," Roxie said wryly.

Turbo smiled and said, "You know, you're even more beautiful when you smile.." _I shouldn't let her control my heart so easily.. I wonder how Jet's doing._

"I don't doubt it," Roxie scoffed. _Such a charmer, hmm?_

"I mean it," Turbo said, "I can be genuine too, see?" _Genuiiine._

"You're certainly multifaceted," Roxie said as she finally decided to drink the strange bubbly liquid in front of her. _It's good._

"You've never actually had root beer before, I'm guessing," Turbo said wryly, "No surprise, really. You being just plugged in and all.. So what makes you smile? What makes you laugh?" _I sort of need to know this stuff if I'm going to keep your eye._

"I haven't figured that out yet," Roxie said with a shrug, "I figured out what I **don't** like.."

"Me too," Turbo said with a laugh, "It's a shame, really. I have quite the repertoire of inappropriate jokes."

"I've noticed," Roxie said wryly. _Although I did almost laugh about the __'__coming second__'__ comment.._

"How about schadenfreude?" Turbo asked, "Laughing at other people's misfortune."

"Within limits.." Roxie said with a smirk, "It was pretty funny that you got your keys stolen."

"Oh yes, that was **rich**," Turbo said while rolling his eyes in playful annoyance, "You have no idea how much trouble I went through with **that**.. Okay, how about.." He cocked a brow in thought. _Hmm.._

Roxie chuckled and said, "You're actually not so bad when you're not being prideful, perverse, or bitter."

"Self deprecating humor, maybe?" Turbo asked, "Is my nose still bleeding, by the way?" _I'm always prideful, perverse, or bitter though.. Sheesh. This'll be tough. Isn't there any way I could make __**her**__ perverse instead?_

"Not at the moment, no," Roxie said, "So what happened?"

"Well, long story short, I lost my temper and Set punched me in the nose when I yelled at a girl he's begun to fancy," Turbo said, "He's got it coming once my game is safe though."

"It sounds like **you** had it coming," Roxie said wryly, "You really should get that temper under control. I'll have you know that I won't hesitate to kick your ass if you start yelling at **me**. I almost did a while ago in fact."

"Oh boy, **that'll** be tough," Turbo said with a sigh, "Defying code is a bit difficult, you know? It's something I've heard often. 'Stop yelling at me.'" He mocked playfully. "It's not like I **enjoy** yelling at people. I get pissed off, what do you expect?" He drank another root beer that had been sitting in front of him without him knowing about it.

"I'll tell you what," Roxie said before licking the inside of her cheek briefly, "I'll keep you in line so long as you don't make me lose interest."

"Gonna beat the tar out of me until I listen?" Turbo asked with a laugh, "I'll have you know violence won't work. That wouldn't calm me down in the slightest when I'm in that sort of mood. Positive reinforcement would work **far** better, I'd imagine." He grinned. _I can think of a few positive reinforcement techniques.._

"We'll see.." Roxie said, "Are you **sure** you're alright not doing anything about your game?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Turbo often plays mood roulette.


	14. Brute Force Method

"His stump is this way, right?" Jet asked as he ran to the huge pile of bricks and smashed up building parts.

"Like that's a question.." Set said in an annoyed tone as he and Sonny followed close behind. _This explanation had better be good._

"Ralph!" Jet said loudly as he shook awake the sleeping giant. He jumped back to avoid the wide swipe of Ralph's waking fist. _Sheesh.. Nearly game overed._

"Who? Huh?!" Ralph asked as he groggily rose from his stump, "Oh. What do you want?" He furrowed his brow in an annoyed way. _I don't especially like people seeing my 'home'.._

"Yeah, sorry to bother you, Ralph," Set said while stifling a laugh. _He really lives in this?.. No, this is serious. Our game really might get unplugged at this rate._

"We need help with something and only **you** and Felix can get it done.." Jet said pleadingly. _Please, Ralph. I know you're a good guy.._

Ralph sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly._ That root beer is mostly out of my system at least._ "Fine," he grumbled as he got out of his stump, "I owe you anyhow.." _It couldn't have waited a few more hours? Who's this guy again?_

"Sonny," Sonny said knowingly with his arms crossed. _We've never spoken with each other._

"What do you mean you owe me?" Jet asked curiously._ That's not really important right now, but.._

"Nevermind.." Ralph said, "Let's just go get Felix. You can tell me the rest on the way." _It had better be important though, interrupting my sleep._

They made their way up through the Niceland apartment building to Felix's room, just below the penthouse. Jet knocked on the door. _I hope he isn't sleeping too soundly.._

Felix rubbed his eyes tiredly after opening the door. "Ralph?.. What are you guys doing here?" he asked with a nervous laugh. _The Turbo Time twins and some other guy too.._

"We'll explain on the way," Jet said anxiously, "We need your help." _We don't have time to dilly dally.._

"Lead the way," Felix said seriously. _It must be pretty important.._

The five of them made their way to Turbo Time's stadium building as Jet explained exactly what was happening, and what they expected the wrecker and fixer to do.

They finally got to the door to the code room without any interruptions.

"So I just have to bust down this door.." Ralph said with a chuckle as he cracked his knuckles. _Seems simple enough._ He extended an arm backward and curled his hand into a tight fist. With one swift motion, he slammed his fist into the door, leaving a dent, scraping some skin off of his knuckles in the process. "**D'aghh**! Sweet Mother **Hubbard**!" _What is this door made of?_

"Ralph!" Felix yelled worriedly as he slapped Ralph's hand with his hammer. _I've never seen Ralph get hurt by **anything** before..  
_

"I'm fine!" Ralph huffed, "I don't know what's with this door, but I'm not going to let it off that easily.." He clenched both hands into fists, as tightly as possible. _This is the end for you, door.._

Sonny watched intently. _Maybe it's possible after all.._

Ralph slammed both fists into the offending door one after the other. A much larger dent was produced as a result. He winced and clenched his teeth shut, groaning inwardly as best he could. _I was at least expecting the pain this time.._

Felix healed Ralph's hands again as fast as he could. _Jeepers, Ralph.._

With two final punches infused with everything he had left, Ralph finally busted the door open. _**Never** again block my path, Door, or I shall wreak upon you just retribution.  
_

The code room was a seemingly endless void, dimly lit by dozens of small blue code boxes which were networked by thin wires. The occasional pulse went through the wires as information traveled through them.

"You did well, Ralph," Sonny said softly while patting him on the shoulder as Felix fixed Ralph's hands yet again. _Remind me never to get on his bad side.._

"You okay, brother?" Felix asked softly. _I don't blame you for getting mad.._

"I said I'm fine!" Ralph huffed. _Jet, you better not need this door busted down again.._ He breathed deeply to calm himself. _Did Felix just call me brother?  
_

"We'd better hurry," Sonny said as he slowly swam into the code room. _I've never fixed a kill screen before, nevermind one that someone put intentionally.._

"Isn't that dangerous?" Felix asked worriedly, "What if you float off with no way back?"_ Shouldn't we tie ourselves down with something?_

"That doesn't happen.." Sonny said while turning back to Felix and shook his head, "There's no gravity, but as long as you can swim, you'll be fine." _It's an understandable thing to worry about though._ He made his way into the codework of Turbo Time, looking for anything out of place.

"Turbo's ego on full display," Set said in an annoyed tone, "Look how big his code is compared to everything else. Oh hey, look! This must be for his catchphrase!" He swam over to a code box that read 'Turbo-tastic!'.

"Let's not forget why we're here," Jet said pointedly. _It's **very** bad having him in here. **Please**, Konami. Keep him from messing anything up.._

* * *

"I'd** love** to do something about it," Turbo scoffed and lifted his helmet to relieve an itch, "But what the heck **could** I do? I was looking for the person who did it earlier, but RoadBlasters was the only game that stood out. And the surge protector is on the prowl now. I doubt I could really do anything to help." _I know I shouldn't be taking this easy, but what **can** I do, huh? _His nose started bleeding again. _Napkins.._ He wiped his nose. _Turbo-tastic.._

"Well anything would be more productive than sitting around, right?" Roxie asked, "It's almost as if you don't **care** if your game gets unplugged." _You came all the way to my game looking for someone who may have put the kill screen on your game. As soon as you met me though you just up and forgot about it.._

"Oh, **believe** you me," Turbo said bitterly, "I **care**." He guzzled down another glass of root beer and set it down firmly on the counter. "You're just proving to be a good enough distraction to keep my mood up for the most part."

"So that's it, huh?" Roxie asked, narrowing her eyes at him, "I'm a **distraction**.." _How would I use 'positive reinforcement' on this?_

"Oh, don't even **go** there Foxie," Turbo said bitterly, "I meant what I said before. I **told** you. I get angry and I end up saying stupid crap."

"Like what you're saying now," Roxie said while rolling her eyes. _So you realize._

"**Yes**. Like I'm saying now," Turbo said while gritting his teeth, "Let's go to Turbo Time then. Jet might have fixed it for all I know." _That would at least ease my mind somewhat._

"Without paying?" Roxie asked while cocking a brow. _You a thief?_

"Pay with **what**?" Turbo scoffed and got off his stool, "There's no money here, I don't know if you realized." _It's not like we get paid for doing our jobs. Unless satisfaction counts as payment._

Roxie sighed deeply and joined him in leaving the establishment. _Like I'd have known that. I only just got plugged in today.. I'm about at my limit with that attitude of his though. He's almost like a chihuahua, barking for no reason.. How would I calm one of those down?_ "Relax," she said softly while putting a hand on Turbo's back just inside the gateway to Tapper's. _I guess I have to work on my attitude as well. I've been adding fuel to the fire.._

Turbo huffed, "It's annoying, me being so short, huh?.. You'll hurt your back like that." He looked at the way she was awkwardly bent down. _At least I've got a perfect view of those jeans from down here, looking at the bright side.. Plus it's not like I'm the only short guy around here. The Nicelanders are even shorter, excluding Felix who is about my height.._

"I could always carry you like a child," Roxie said with a smirk. _You're staring again._

"Yes, yes, this is all so **very** amusing to you, isn't it?" Turbo asked as they got out into Grand Central Station. _At least I got her to start smiling._

"Pretty much, yeah," Roxie said with a laugh, "I shouldn't laugh though. Not with your game possibly getting unplugged.." She frowned worriedly. _It'd be my fault if it does, if this kill screen doesn't do it. Does the owner of the arcade unplug games that easily though?_

"You just have to keep bringing it up.." Turbo grumbled and crossed his arms.

"Well I don't want you to get distracted from the fact," Roxie said pointedly, "You know, since I'm a **distraction**."_ I'll forgive it for now since your game is in danger, but don't think I'll forget it._

"You're **still** mad about that?" Turbo asked incredulously, "Come on, Roxie.."

"It hasn't even been more that a few minutes since you said it, what do **you** think, Turbo?" Roxie asked while rolling her eyes as the two marched onward to Turbo Time. _It's not rocket science._ _Not helping.._

The two finally made their way inside Turbo Time.

"Yeah, see?" Turbo asked, "Behold, the inside of a kill screen.. What is our next course of action? **I** haven't the foggiest.."

"No clue," Roxie said, "If someone were trying to mess up the game, where would they go?" _I should have brought my sunglasses with me. Not that it would have stopped the ground from shaking any.._

"Heck if I know.." Turbo said with a shrug, "About the only weird thing in this game is a door with some kind of control panel on it under the stadium." _Never could figure out what order to press those buttons in.._

"Maybe the person who did this got it open," Roxie said, "It's worth a look, right? It's better than doing nothing."

"I don't like doing nothing either, but you don't have to say it like that," Turbo said with a sigh as he led the way to the stadium building, "The last thing I want is this game getting unplugged, okay?"

"So where do distractions go on that list?" Roxie asked.

"That's a close second to last thing I want to get rid of," Turbo said, "I care, alright?" _Sheesh._ "I can tell this is going to be difficult.."

"Have you ever had it easy?" Roxie asked. _You've been in several failed relationships, you said.. Honestly I don't know if this one will work out any better for you at this rate. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm even giving you the chance, knowing all this._

"No, not really," Turbo said solemnly, "Let's just not rub it in, okay? One thing at a time.." _It's like you're trying to make me miserable._

"Fair enough," Roxie said, "But really, this place is messed up pretty bad." She looked around at all the floating lines of code and the blocky, shifting parts of the building. _I see what he means about 'A GAME FOR A GAME'.. They must have made somebody mad. How do you not remember something that would warrant this kind of retaliation?_

* * *

"So what are we looking for in here?" Jet asked, "I'm sure there wouldn't be a box with 'Kill Screen' written on it."

"I'm just looking for anything that stands out," Sonny said while furrowing his brow, looking around, "I've never even been inside a kill screen before now." _I've seen it on the screen of Pac-Man before though._

"Set, **please** don't mess with anything.." Jet said worriedly. _You're going to mess things up even more.._

"Now would **I** do something like that?" Set asked in a hurt tone. _What do you expect me to do in here? This place is interesting.._

"**Yes**. You **would**," Jet said knowingly, "Now isn't the time to mess around."

"Who's this guy?" Turbo asked nonchalantly as he and Roxie joined the group. _I think I've seen him in Tapper's before, but.._

"His name is Sonny," Jet said while looking at a box with the word 'Code' written on it, "He- **Turbo**?!" _Well isn't this just **great**? Answer: No, it **isn't**!  
_

"And Roxie," Turbo said with a grin. _I wonder if she's actually my girlfriend at this point or if she's just hanging out with me to make up her mind on it. We should clarify that sometime soon..  
_

"This place is kind of weird.." Roxie said as she looked around. _I can only guess we don't have to worry about floating off.._

"Agreed," Sonny said, "You get used to it though." _Those jeans.._

"Great. Now Turdbo's here," Set said while rolling his eyes. _Those jeans.. I wonder how Sorceress would look in them._ He laughed to himself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Those jeans.. must be coded in such a way that men's eyes are forcefully drawn to them or something.


	15. I'm From the Future

"Okay, so what's the situation?" Turbo asked as he crossed his arms, floating upside down beside the others, "Can it be fixed? **Please** tell me it can be fixed.." _Because if it can't, then why the hell did we come all the way in here?_

"That's what we're trying to find out," Sonny said while opening a code box with the word 'Environment' written on it. _It would likely be in here._

"Okay, I **really** have to ask.." Turbo said confusedly as he stopped floating upside down. _Blood rushing to my head in zero gravity? _Sonny was typing away at a blue holographic keyboard that appeared, then looked over to Turbo. "How do **you** fit in with all this, Sonny?" He wiped his nose with another Tapper's napkin._ I'm glad I brought a few with me.._

"Still feeling the effects of that punch?" Set asked with a laugh. _Serves you right for yelling at lady folks, regardless of the fact that they aren't grey.. I guess it doesn't matter if they're not grey though. This Sonny guy isn't a bad guy, for instance._

Sonny noticed Jet change the code to the door from the 'Code' code box. _He was paying attention. I guess he switched the B and A around on purpose._

"You'll get far worse when this is over," Turbo said bitterly while moving his fists in a fisticuffs motion. _You think I won't kill you?_

"To answer your question.." Sonny said firmly to grab their attention after undoing a few alterations listed in a short 'change log', "Long story short, I came from the game Centipede and have been living in Paperboy since my game was unplugged. Jet **somehow** knew I know how to code and enlisted my help to fix the game." _The rest is not pertinent._

"And Jet is going to explain everything once we've fixed it," Set said pointedly as he crossed his arms. _How Sonny knows how to code is also a small mystery._

"And I **just** fixed it," Sonny said boredly, "It was easier than I expected. So let's get out of here and hear it.." _Of course there's the possibility that something else is hidden in here, but there aren't that many files around._

"Really?" Jet asked apprehensively and fidgeted with his hands, "What did they do?" _I guess I'll have to tell them.. I'm not prepared for this in the slightest.._

"They just added random code to the 'Environment' files, simply put," Sonny said as he closed the files, "So let's go. I want to hear what's going on." _You're getting nervous. What is it that you've been hiding, Jet?_

"Agreed," Turbo said with a sigh of relief, "The surge protector is already looking for who did it, but I want to know what it's all about." _What did you and Set do to another game to warrant this kind of revenge?_

"Alright, fine.." Jet said with a sigh as he stroked his temple as they made their way out of the code room. _This is really bad.. I can't word around something like this. Or if I can, I don't know how to.._

"Should I fix the door now?" Felix asked curiously as he turned back to it, catching eyes with something else along the way. _Oh my land, those jeans.. No, I shouldn't behave like that. If dad were here he'd have a fit._

"You'd better be sure about it, because opening that thing again isn't something I look forward to.." Ralph said grouchily before glancing down at Felix, catching a glimpse of the magic pants as well, as his eyes made the return trip. _Those jeans.. Roxie sure knows how to dress, doesn't she?_

"It's okay," Jet said, "I changed the code to open the door, so it should be fine." _Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, A B Start.. The person who did this won't think to try that, right? I'm just glad you don't need to know the code to change the code. That's actually quite dangerous as well, now that I think about it though.._

Felix fixed the door with several hits of his hammer. _Jaminy, this is a first.. It always took just one hit to fix something within an area this small before.._

"You plan on keeping that to **yourself**?" Turbo asked threateningly. _If anybody in this game should know how to get into there it's **me**. It's **my** game.._

"Yes, actually," Jet said firmly as he walked into a room nearby, "I'll explain everything. Let's just go in this room, there's chairs.." _Some kind of conference room. _The others begrudgingly followed him inside without comment as he began to pace around. _This will turn sour fast.._

Ralph carefully leaned against a counter in the room which had a coffee maker and coffee cups on it. He crossed his arms patiently while the others took seats surrounding a conference table. _I'd break one if I tried to sit in it for sure.._

"I'm waiting," Sonny said plainly as he leaned back into one of the many executive chairs surrounding the large conference table. He clasped his hands together loosely and rested them on the edge of the glass table's surface. _I gather it's something big if he's got to think about it this much._

Jet sighed and gestured with his hands in front of a large 'dry erase board' as if he were trying to explain something, though no words were coming out. He shook his head. _No.._

"Would you freakin' tell us already?!" Turbo asked in an annoyed tone, "We still have to figure out what to do about the guy who did this, you know?"

"Turbo, shush," Roxie said softly. _You're so immature, Turbo. You really are just like a child aren't you?_

"Sorry.." Turbo huffed, "It's annoying." _Quit stalling, Jet, and just tell us._

"So you're actually going out with him?" Set asked incredulously from directly across the table, "I'll warn you, you're in for a rough time.." _He can get worse than this. I'm surprised he hasn't yet.  
_

"I can tell, trust me," Roxie said and exhaled hard enough to puff out her cheeks. _But when he's being sincere he's a pretty nice guy. Albeit a bit perverse.. That's not at issue here though.  
_

"It's not like I don't **want** to tell you, alright?" Jet said earnestly, "Here, I'll tell you straight up the thing that is easiest to flat out say, although it's the least believable.. I'm from the **future**, sort of. Or **a** future, rather.." He shook his head. "I know it sounds stupid.." _None of you will believe me I'm sure._

"Hey Felix, hit him with your hammer, would you?" Set asked softly, "He doesn't know what he's saying right now. He did crash into a wall yesterday." _**Very** funny, Jet. What are you really hiding? Nobody is going to believe something stupid like that.._

"Sure thing," Felix said with a chuckle as he got up from his chair and hit Jet on the arm with his hammer before sitting back down. _I'm sorry I laughed, Jet.. I'm sure you believe what you're saying, at least.  
_

"Hit me with that thing too, Felix," Turbo said while holding out his hand across the table, "I've got a bit of a broken nose, you know?" _At least I think it's broken._

"Jaminy, I'm sorry, Turbo," Felix said sincerely, "I have no excuse.." _Set even pointed it out just a moment ago.._

"Thanks, pal," Turbo said with a grin, "I appreciate it." _Back to 100% at last._

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Jet said with a sigh as he scratched his head and placed his other hand on his hip before pacing around in a small circle, "It's the **truth** though. I can tell you what year some games will be coming to the arcade.. Off the top of my head there's Sugar Rush, a candy themed go-kart racing game that comes out in 1997. That year The House of the Dead also comes out. It's a rail shooter where players kill zombies.. In 2012, October 23rd, if I remember correctly, Hero's Duty comes out. It's another rail shooter where players take the role of a rookie space marine who shoots Cy-bugs on their way up a 99 floor tower to get a medal and also activate a beacon. Cy-bug is short for 'cyborg bug'. They can assimilate into themselves whatever they eat.. Six months after that, Sugar Rush 2 comes out.." _I wish I had worded some of that better.._

"Nothing a little sooner?" Turbo asked with an incredulous laugh, "I **know** you're one for pranks, but honestly this isn't the time." _There's no way he came from the future. Although it's certainly true his personality has shifted significantly ever since he crashed yesterday. And I'm not so sure he'd be able to come up with all that on the spot..  
_

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes out in 1989.." Jet said after thinking for a brief moment, "The players play as one of four giant walking turtles trained to be ninjas. They were trained by a shorter, yet similarly giant sewer rat named Master Splinter. The main Bad Guy's name is Shredder, though there's also a bunch of nameless mooks called foot clan members. There's also two bosses named Rocksteady and Bebop.." _I'd really like to avoid the topic of 'going Turbo'.._

"Not that I'm saying I believe you," Turbo said while leaning back and propping his legs up on the table, "But if you're from the **future**, how far into the future, and what happens to Turbo Time?" _It's a little too believable right now. That's a bit scary, in fact.._

Set cocked a brow. _It actually does make some things make sense._ _He knew what RoadBlasters would be like before it was plugged in, and he was talking about our game being at risk of getting unplugged from it.. Plus he knew Sonny knows how to code despite it apparently being a secret. And he mentioned Centipede which made Sonny approach us yesterday.._ _Maybe he really is?_

"That's where it gets tricky," Jet said apprehensively as he took a seat at the head of the conference table, "I'm from about 25 or 26 years in the future, something like that. The future I came from will no longer happen though, since things already changed somehow with this kill screen. It didn't happen last time.."

"Before we go any further I think we should just check your memory file," Sonny said incredulously, "**If** you're from the future, we should be able to see right away." _If the date on some of your memory files is from the future.._

"By all means," Jet said apprehensively, "We've been in there once already.." _I'm a little scared about their reaction to that though.._ "Just please keep in mind that the future I come from won't happen exactly as I experienced it before, so don't react harshly.."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I almost feel bad about making the kill screen so easily resolved.


	16. Brief Future Rundown

Jet reluctantly typed in the code on the gamepad-shaped control panel. _Not prepared for this.._

Turbo nodded as he paid this action the utmost attention. _Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, A B Start. You'd better believe I'll use every ounce of brainpower to remember this until I can write it down, Jet._

"You sure it's wise to only switch the B and A around?" Sonny asked as the door swooshed open sideways. _I mean really? But I suppose that the culprit wouldn't think to try 'A B' instead of 'B A'._

"Well the culprit wouldn't try it, would they?" Jet asked hesitantly. _Am I an idiot for changing it to that?_

Turbo grinned subtly._ So the original code is 'B A', got it. You're making this too easy on me. Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, B A Start. Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, B A Start. Up Up..._

"By the way, thanks for fixing my helmet, Felix," Jet said appreciatively as he put it on, and all but Turbo and Roxie immediately went inside, "It sacrificed itself earlier so that we could make it this far. There were mimes in the hallway." _Did I just say mimes?_ "Mines.." _I'm all shook up from this. I can barely keep my words straight.._

Turbo pulled out one of his spare Tapper's napkins. It was upside down, but he paid it no mind. On the bottom right corner, had it been facing right-side up, he wrote the code using a blue ballpoint pen he kept on hand in case he needed to sign an autograph. _I need to be able to get into my own game's code if something goes wrong. What if Jet disappears or gets killed by someone?_

"Come on Turbo," Roxie said wryly while patting him on the helmet, "I want to see if this guy is from the future." _It actually seems plausible at this rate. __You can worry about that later._

"Oh, right," Turbo said with a laugh as he tucked the napkin with the Konami Code written on it into the left pocket of his jumpsuit, "Just making sure I can get into this room later in case anything else goes wrong." _I wonder what kind of limits code modification has in here though. If it can make a kill screen, what else can it do?_ He and Roxie swam inside the code room and joined the others.

"Okay, so now's the moment of truth, isn't it?" Sonny said with a shrug before opening the file containing Jet's memory files. _Let's find out, shall we? Scrolling all the way down.._

"Well I'll be dipped," Felix said in an incredulous tone, "It **does** say 2013 on these down here.." _He really is from the future?_

"J-just please don't open any of them.." Jet said apprehensively, "If you guys know what happens, it'll be harder.."_ What scares me most is that __Roxie__ is in here. __Turbo__ seems to be trying to avoid the future I come from as well, though he doesn't even realize it.. __But __I highly doubt I could get __Roxie__ to believe that Turbo might not go Turbo anymore.._

"Oh really? **What** will be harder? And **why**?" Turbo asked bitterly, "I think you ought to enlighten us **all**, 'Futureman'." _I'm sick and tired of you jerking us around with your secrets._

"Making a better future than the one **I** come from, **that's** what," Jet said firmly, "**Everything** I have done since coming back here has been to produce the ideal future for all of us, **even** the person who put the kill screen on our game.." _I don't know which one it is though.._

"So you **know** who did it?" Roxie asked while cocking a brow and crossing her arms, "Why didn't you say anything until now? And what happens to us that you're trying to avoid? I think we deserve to know what you're trying to avoid at the very least." _So __**this**__ is why he was being so distant when he met me earlier.. He's been fighting a battle on his own until now.  
_

"You're absolutely right. You **deserve** to know.." Jet said while rubbing his neck, "The problem is that knowing will make it nearly impossible, I think.. I can't tell you the circumstances, but I **can** tell you what happens as a **result **that I'm trying to avoid.."

Set rolled his eyes and said, "Come on guys, Jet wouldn't make this up. We've seen for ourselves that he's from the future, right? I say we just trust him on this.." _I'll trust your judgment on this, Jet. You're trying to save our game, and our lives.. I'm actually proud of you.._

"Alright **fine**," Turbo said with a sigh, "So what is the 'result' you're trying to avoid?" _I'm not comfortable with this in the slightest, __but I'll find out on my own later.._

"In a couple of days, had I **not** come back in time somehow, both Turbo Time and RoadBlasters would get **unplugged** on the same day," Jet said nervously, "I don't know where Roxie or her friends from her game went, but **we** from Turbo Time lived on in other games.." _That's one way to word it. __I can't tell them after all.._

"Wait, lived in other games?" Turbo asked confusedly, "So all that 'A GAME FOR A GAME' business with this kill screen.. It was someone from one of the games we were in?" _So that means that they would have come back in time as well, wouldn't it?_

Jet swallowed hard. "Yes.. We sort of got their game unplugged while living there," he said nervously. _Hopefully they don't ask how the games got unplugged.._ "It's someone from Battlezone, I'm almost certain of that.." _They weren't at the Bad-Anon meeting, and the motion-sensing mines that were in the hallway.. __Unless that's just what they __**want**__ us to think? But that was the last game Set ruined. The three __after that__ were fixed before getting unplugged, __thankfully__.._

"Don't you think you should tell the surge protector about this?" Roxie asked, "I mean really, if you have a general idea of who did it.." _So what happened to me? That not even he knows is a bad sign.._

"She's got a point, Jet," Turbo said as he placed his hand on Jet's shoulder, "Since it's already been fixed, I say we inform him now.. But don't think we're through with this subject." He lightly squeezed Jet's shoulder. _Whether you like it or not, this is something I need to know._

"What about Fix-It Felix Jr.?" Felix asked hesitantly, drawing the group's attention to him and Ralph, "What happens to **our** game?" He motioned at Ralph. _So far we've __hear__d no mention of __**our**__ future.._

"Your game was doing quite well last I saw it," Jet said with a relieved smile, "Actually you get married to the female sergeant of Hero's Duty.. And Ralph has a girlfriend from Sugar Rush 2.." _I shouldn't say much more than this.._

"I get married?" Felix asked with a chuckle, "But wait, that's in.. **25 years**? Jiminy jaminy.. I gotta wait **that** long?" _25 years is a __**long**__ time to wait!_

"Frankly I'm shocked as well," Ralph said while cocking a brow. _That I get a girlfriend at all.. __I'm tempted to ask about her.._

"You'll find she's worth it," Jet said sincerely, "Trust me on that.. I could pull up some memories if you'll let me do it later.. Although it'll be a **lot** more awkward when you meet her down the line.." _I shouldn't have even offered.._

"Oh no, I'm fine with waiting," Felix said insistently while holding a hand up as if to say, 'stop', "I just think.. You know, what if I fall in love before then?" _I feel like I'd be betraying her even though she doesn't even exist yet.._

"Well you apparently hadn't found the right one **before** then, Felix," Turbo said while rolling his eyes, "I say don't even worry about it." _I'm more shocked that Ralph here would get a girlfriend.. What kind of chick must __**she**__ be? __Good Guy/Bad Guy relations must have significantly improved by then. Or she just didn't care.. Both? I doubt a racing game would have Bad Guys. RoadBlasters doesn't really count since it isn't actually racing in the first place. Simply getting from point A to point B isn't a race when your only competitors are obstacles to shoot._ "The matter at hand is more important. We can talk about the future until we're blue in the face once this guy is taken care of."

"Agreed," Roxie said worriedly. _I wish I knew how **my** game gets unplugged.. I don't like leaving my future up to some guy I've hardly even talked to._

"Relax, Roxie," Turbo said with a half-hearted grin as he patted her on the back, "I won't let **your** game get unplugged, even if Turbo Time will only last a while longer.."

"Ours might still be able to be saved," Jet said softly, "The reason players gave up on our game was because you couldn't keep your head on straight since you were so mad at your spotlight getting stolen, and it affected your racing. That's exactly what I warned you about when RoadBlasters got plugged in, isn't it?"

Set laughed and said, "Wow Jet, that's pretty blunt." _You tell him! I actually like this Jet better._

"You looking for a fight, Futureman?" Turbo asked bitterly. _Don't blame **me** for how I was programmed._

"No, Turbo," Jet said with a sigh, "Look, either way it's a moot point since you actually met Roxie in this timeline.." _At least you probably didn't meet her in the other, I don't know._

"Wait, you're telling me I didn't even **meet **her before?" Turbo asked in a shocked, skeptical tone, "Why wouldn't I go meet the new rival? No offense intended by that, Roxie.." _What happened to RoadBlasters if it's unrelated to what happened to my game?_

"None taken," Roxie said wryly, "But I'm curious about that too.." _I can only imagine how bitter he must have been about the whole thing without knowing I was 'the new rival'.._

"I can only guess that you were too angry about the whole thing to check the game out," Jet said with a nervous shrug, "I don't have all the answers. I'm still just one person even though I'm from the future." _I can't tell you what __**really**__ happened.. I just hope that things work out between them.. Really it just comes down to his mood swings._ He glanced over at Turbo's overly large file through his peripheral vision. _Good idea? Or bad idea? No.. Bad idea. He can handle it now, right?_

"Yeah, you only calmed down because Jet **almost** handed you your ass when he challenged you to a race earlier," Set said with a laugh. _Then I stole his keys, and before long, met Sorceress. I think I should go see her before tomorrow to tell her about all this.. She can help us deal with the culprit probably._

"Time is **still** ticking," Turbo said in an annoyed tone, "The sooner we do this, the better. Come on, Roxie, let's go actually do something useful." _It's better than doing nothing, right? Didn't you say that?_

"Right," Roxie said with a chuckle as she followed him out of the code room, "Now you're catching on.." _Does he need a__ttention__ t__hat badly t__o keep his head on straight? __I guess that __**is**__ what I've been doing for him ever since we met, giving him attention.._

"So what about Paperboy?" Sonny asked plainly. _I've been patient, but I'm curious as well._

"It's still plugged in, but you moved to a game called X-Treme E-Z Livin' 2.." Jet said plainly, "You're sort of the owner of that game alongside Bobby." _It can't hurt to tell him that. I think it's in 3 years, not sure..  
_

"Owner?" Sonny asked confusedly, "Why would **I** be the 'owner'?" _I guess Bobby is my friend from Asteroids.. I should tell him about all this sometime._

Jet shrugged and said, "I'm not 100% sure on that, but you said that they willingly allowed it when you showed them what you can do. Since then you regularly modded the game to make it more popular."

"We can talk about it later, right?" Ralph asked, finally breaking his silence, "I'm guessing you want our help in finding the guy who did this." _If he can do it to this game, who's to say the culprit won't do it to ours if they find out we helped save the game?_

"We can't let you be the only one 'going hero' around here," Felix said with a grin, "I say we help you out on this."

"I appreciate it, guys," Jet said sheepishly, "I was reluctant to tell you about this, but I guess I shouldn't have worried so much.." _Going hero.._

"Well you're from the** future**," Ralph said with a chuckle, "C'mon, that's pretty heavy stuff, right?" _At least Felix and I had it pretty good in the future. That does make me curious about why he had to make Felix and I become friends. Did it take longer to happen on its own? Well it clearly must have, but how much longer?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** After thinking about it very carefully, I thought it best to **not** have them actually examine any of the memories, and thus Jet was able to word around the issue of 'going Turbo'.


	17. Straightening Up Some

"Right, so who wants to decide what to do?" Jet asked, "It could easily be any one of us.." _Ralph would normally take the leader-type position when I come from, but they all have strong points.._

"Well let's throw all our ideas out then," Set said with a grin, "I'd like to include Sorceress in this. She's got spells and the like." _And she'll definitely be my girlfriend eventually. Maybe I should ask Jet about her.._

"Plus you **like** her," Jet said with a knowing grin, "She'll kill you if you don't straighten up, you know?" _Oh. With __**me**__ saying that.._

"Woah, seriously?" Set asked with a look of shock on his face, "Thanks for the warning.." He put a hand to his chest as if he'd been shot. _Man alive!_

Jet laughed and shook his head then said, "No, that's not something that happened. I'm just saying.." _Thought so. __We should be a bit more serious.._

Set heaved a sigh of relieve and said, "Don't scare me like that, Jet.." He grinned again. "She's certainly something though, you gotta admit." _I guess I really do have to practice 'straightening up' though.. I'm not about to mess up my chances. Especially not when the future of our game is at stake._

"Well I say you probably have a chance so long as you stop harassing people.." Jet said confidently as he patted Set on the shoulder. He gave a nod for good measure. _She likes creepy stuff, and grey dudes are pretty creepy by normal standards, right?_

"Well, I don't really know how much use he'll be," Sonny said, "But my buddy could probably be of some use."

"I'm not so sure telling him the future is a good idea though," Jet said softly, "I hate to say it, but he isn't really tight-lipped.." _He would always be in Tapper's trying to give people the Konami Code so that they could cheat and make their lives better. His heart was in the right place, but his brain wasn't.._

"True enough," Sonny said with a laugh, "So he goes by the name Bobby in the future, huh?" _He would always just be 'Asteroids' since he's the only one from his game besides the __two __UFO__s__.._

"Yeah, well, I really only knew of him once Asteroids.. got unplugged.." Jet said solemnly, "It happens about a month or so before E-Z Livin' gets plugged in, I think.." _It might have been a contributing factor in Litwak buying E-Z Livin' for all I know.._

"So he still has a couple of years.." Sonny said with a solemn nod, "How did it happen?" _I'll tell him about it when it's about to happen.. __No point in making him live __a couple of __years knowing that his game will get unplugged before long._

"I can't remember off-hand," Jet said with a sigh, "I can check the memory files later.."

"You're quite tight-lipped about the future," Sonny scoffed. _It's a little frustrating being left in the dark like this, but for now I'll assume he has the arcade's best interests at heart.._

"Yeah.. Sorry," Jet said sheepishly. _I already told you why though._

"Don't worry about it," Sonny said with a sigh._ Turbo __probably __has something to do with it though. __Jet__ told me before that Turbo can't be trusted.. He wouldn't have been the cause for RoadBlasters getting unplugged, right? Is __**that**__ what he's trying to avoid mentioning so fervently? But __Turbo i__s apparently fine now since __he's going out with__ Roxie.._ He subtly shook his head to refocus. "So anyway, I can avoid telling 'Bobby' all this future stuff, but he's a **space ship**. He can easily handle tanks if he has to. Tanks can't shoot up.." _Since our opponent or opponent__**s**__ are in Battlezone most likely.._ "We could check things out in their code room and find out what's what. Of course that might conflict with whatever the surge protector is doing.."

"Good idea.." Jet said contemplatively, "I hadn't even thought of using their code room against them.." _But they've no doubt changed the code._

"I gotta smash **another** one of those doors down?" Ralph asked grouchily. _Why?! __There's no way they didn't change the code.._

"I'd be there to fix you up, brother," Felix said with a sheepish smile. _I know it'll hurt, but __if it's the only way.._

Ralph sighed heavily and said, "You'd better.. I got no other ideas, what about you Felix?" _Are you really expecting __**me**__ to suggest something? I'm a wrecker.. Sure I get an idea every now and then, but for this I got nothing.._

"We could try talking to them first?" Felix asked with a sheepish, incredulous grin, "It's worth a try before invading their privacy. Maybe if we explain.."

"That might prove to be difficult.." Jet said with a sigh, "I'd **love** to end this without conflict, but as you saw by the state of this game a while ago.. I'm not confident they won't try to kill me on sight." _They would also out Turbo, my brother, and I, but that's likely to be unavoidable regardless. I've only bought us time to prove we won't 'go Turbo'.._

"I think we should go catch up with Turbo and Roxie," Felix said firmly with a serious smile, "Maybe they've found William by now. We can update them on the situation."

"Well, rather than that I'm gonna go see Sorceress," Set said with a grin, "If she's not sleeping already, that is." _I __wonder__ what her schedule is.._

"Right," Jet said with a chuckle as they made their way out of the code room, "Just remember what I said.." _Straighten up. I don't need you going Turbo either._

"Yes, yes," Set said while rolling his eyes, "If it means **that** much to you, I'll 'straighten up'. Our game's fate hangs in the balance and whatnot, right?" He scoffed at the idea of giving up pranking people, Turbo most of all. _It's gonna be __**tough**__, but if I can possibly get Sorceress into some Roxie-type jeans then it'll all be so worth it.. _He chuckled and shook his head before flashing a toothy grin._ And then __**out**__ of them, of course.._

* * *

Turbo and Roxie got out of Turbo Time and stopped just before the gateway.

"Where you figure he went?" Turbo asked, "You think he's in Battlezone already?" _For all I know he'll pop up once we leave the gateway. He was messing with some kind of control panel here earlier, I wonder what that was all about.._ He ran his hands along the smooth metal of the gateway.

"Dunno," Roxie said with a shrug as she pulled out a pack of gum, "Want some?" _Here, I'm being considerate.. _She unwrapped a piece and stuck it in her mouth while waiting for his answer.

"Oho! I'm moving up in the world," Turbo said wryly, "We're at the sharing gum stage, hmm?" _It hasn't been in your mouth yet, but I'll take a piece.._ He held his hand out.

"You're really too much," Roxie said wryly as she shook her head, "Just keep it up and this might actually work out.." She handed him a piece of her gum. _I'm glad it regenerates into a full pack after a while.._

"Oh, I intend to," Turbo said with a grin as he unwrapped the gum and eagerly stuck it in his mouth, "I'm only just getting **started** here.. But really, Jet being from the future. It makes me wonder just what he must be going through.. I never used to care about the guy until today, to be honest." _Watermelon __flavor__, hmm?_

"Why's that?" Roxie asked confusedly as they leaned against the gateway. _The surge protector can wait. He's probably doing something important anyways._

"Well before his recent time-shift, Jet would always just do whatever Set wanted," Turbo said while rolling his eyes in annoyance, "You know? The guy who **stole my keys**?.. Ah crap, I forgot to kill him.." _I'll do it once this is over with. Cooperation is vital in times like this.._

"You're **seriously** gonna do that?" Roxie asked with a laugh, "Maybe you two would get along if you would stop jumping at each other's throats all the time.." _Really, you're from the same game and you hate each other? What's up with that?_

"He started it!" Turbo said in playful annoyance, "The guy never lets up. He's been nothing but a thorn in my side since day one. It would get even **worse** whenever I had a girlfriend.." He laughed bitterly. "I guess he didn't want me to be happy or something, I don't know.. I've made the girls cry more often than I care to admit, yelling about Set.." _I'm surprised that some bothered staying with me as long as they did, actually.._

"Well just **try** to get along with him," Roxie said softly while patting Turbo on the shoulder, "I think he might be desensitized to you retaliating. How about I do it for you when he steps out of line? How you think he'd feel getting his ass handed to him by a girl?"

"Well," Turbo said with a laugh, "That actually sounds good at first, but in practice it would be like I can't fight my own battles. Plus he doesn't really seem to care about the consequences of his actions as long as he reaches his goals, whatever they might be at the time.." _He even goes so far as slamming his car into mine if it means winning races.. _He clenched the gum tightly between his teeth.

"How about you?" Roxie asked softly, "You really get that mad when you're not in the spotlight?" _You just love attention, don't you?_

"Well it's the only time people pay any attention to me, if you **must** know.. It's why I throw such damn good parties all the time," Turbo said bitterly, "Don't spread it around though. Everyone else thinks it's a well kept secret." _As if I wouldn't notice the pattern after a while.. They come to the party and spend like __what,__ 5 minutes talking to me then form their little groups while raiding the bar? Bah! Who's that going to fool? Jealous idiots, all of them. They just come for the atmosphere they can't get anywhere else.._

"With **your** winning personality?" Roxie asked in a tone dripping with sarcasm. _Yeah, I think I get it.._ "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.." _Why would I?_

"I know, right?" Turbo asked in an identical tone while rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, "And thanks, I appreciate it. For the gum too.." _Aren't you supposed to be fixing that? Why do you __just__ keep bringing it up?_

"Smile," Roxie said firmly. _I guess the players and women were all he really had.._

Turbo rolled his eyes and forced a smile then said, "Happy?" _You're not very good at positive reinforcement, are you? I don't think you're ready for my ideas just yet though, so I'll keep my mouth shut.._

"That smile is a bit creepy, actually," Roxie said with a laugh, "Try again?" _I don't have a golden hammer, but I'll try to fix that for him since I'm gonna be going out with him.. At least for now._

Turbo scoffed and smiled again then said, "Now?" _Like I can give a convincing smile in the mood I'm in.._

"You're easy to pick on.." Roxie said wryly. _He definitely needs work.._

"Oh, well I'm **glad** to be of service," Turbo scoffed, "We should **really** be looking for What's-his-name though." _Let's just go.._

"Oh, come on, don't get mad, I didn't mean it," Roxie said softly, "Here, want a hug?" _Lonely.. He's Mr. Lonely.. Why does that song have to come to mind __right __now?_

Turbo scoffed. _I see what you're doing. You're sneaky.._ "Playing on my emotions like that.." he said wryly, "You were just setting me up for a hug, weren't you? You could have asked earlier. I wouldn't turn you down.." _Careful, Roxie.. Your shell is breaking._

Roxie rolled her eyes. _Bear with it.._ "Yeah, you sure figured **me** out," she said while bending down and opening her arms. _Come on, you need a hug, right? If we're going to go out I might as well give you a hug when you __obviously__ need it.._

"You're really too much," Turbo said wryly as he hugged her tightly, "Just keep it up and this might actually work out.." _Allow me to reuse your words from a moment ago.._

Roxie scoffed. _Very funny.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **D'awww..


	18. Jet Reloaded

Turbo hugged Roxie perhaps for a **little** longer than would normally be acceptable. Especially since his hands were beginning to wander in the direction of those jeans..

"I recommend you not continue that," Roxie warned, which made Turbo's hands freeze on her lower back, "I'm not used to touching people at all in the first place. You're lucky to get a hug." _Although it's a lot more enjoyable than I expected.._

Turbo sighed and pulled his hands back and put them in the pockets of his jumpsuit as Roxie stood back up and crossed her arms. "You'll get used to it fast, promise," he said wryly. _I know you enjoyed it._

William cleared his throat. He had his usual bored expression on his face, despite his seriousness about the situation. _I don't appreciate PDA, but that's not at issue here._

"How long have **you** been there?" Turbo asked bitterly, "Have some consideration. Where have you been anyway?" _Well?_

"I've been observing who did it," William said plainly and crossed his arms, "They're currently in Battlezone. Not a lot I can do alone unfortunately, so I have to wait.." He scratched his nearly bald head. "About the kill screen on your game though. If you show me to your code room I can possibly fix it." _It's part of our training.. I've never had to actually do it yet though. It's a shock, really._

"We fixed it already," Turbo said wryly, "So about Battlezone. We've got people willing to go in already."

"Who? And why should I let them risk their lives?" William asked dryly, "Once they leave the game I've got them anyway."

"Me, for one," Roxie said firmly, "And I'd recommend you **not** underestimate me." _Who knows what game they might target next? They were probably the one who got my game unplugged in the future Jet came from.._

"Then there's Felix and Ralph," Turbo said pointedly, "Dunno about the others. I don't think we have the luxury of time on this. And there's likely an **entire game** against us." _Set will probably go, I guess. Sonny doesn't seem too excited to extend his neck though._

Their attention shifted to the tunnel when they heard Felix hop out of the mine carts that he and the others were riding.

"You found him," Felix said cheerfully. _That didn't take long._

"I'm going see Sorceress, later," Set said wryly. _I guess she might be at the castle. I hope I don't wake her up._ He left.

"I'm going see 'Bobby', 'later'," Sonny said plainly. _I shouldn't call him that yet._ He left.

"Right.." Jet said with a sigh before he apprised William of the situation for the next few minutes.

* * *

Set easily slipped around the rainy area just inside the game 'Blood and Thunder', having learned from his first experience and made his way out to the 'Maleficently-designed', creepy castle out in the slightly mountainous distance. "She has good taste in living quarters, that's for sure," he said to himself with a toothy grin as he trekked along the winding road. _I haven't seen her yet, so she may very well be there. I hope she is. I wanna get invited in so I can check the place out._ He shook his head. _There's plenty of time for that once this matter is settled. I can't rush this. I gotta 'straighten up'.._ "Tch.." _On the one hand, I have my fun life that I've lived up to this point. On the other, I get a hot girlfriend.. I wish I could just have both. That would make this so much easier. _He took a deep breath._ I can't let myself turn into Turbo. I have to calm down, focus, smile.._

Set finally made it to the large, imposing doors of the castle. He chuckled as he used the door knocker which had a gargoyle head design on it. _This place is just too awesome._ _I'm getting goosebumps. Okay.. What do I say to her? Hmm..  
_

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a cyclops in a tattered tux with a black tie. His short, black hair was a mess, and he was the smallest amount taller than Ralph. "Yes?" he asked in a slow monotone before looking Set over in suspicion.

After beaming an incredulous grin, Set cleared his throat, put on a serious face, and asked, "Is Sorceress, the mistress of the house at home?" _A cyclops! She has a cyclops butler!_ "It's important.." _I wonder what his name is.._

* * *

Sonny made his way inside Asteroids, obviously with a lot on his mind. _It never fails to amaze me how harmless 'space' is in games.. Aside from the asteroids, of course. _He floated towards his friend who was shooting some asteroids.

"Boom!" 'Bobby' said with a laugh before he rotated to face Sonny. His voice slightly echoed as he spoke. "What's up, Sonny?"_ You look bummed, man._

"Well now that I'm here it's actually sort of awkward to talk about it.." Sonny said while carefully relieving an itch on the top of his head so as to not mess up his hair. _How should I tell him about it? _He crossed his arms._  
_

"Sounds pretty serious.." Bobby said seriously, "Give it to me straight, bromigo." _I can take it, whatever it is.._

"Well I helped fix a kill screen in a friend's game, and it turns out that it was purposefully put there by someone.." Sonny said seriously, "It turns out that the guy, or guys behind it are in the game Battlezone. I don't know what exactly we'll end up doing, the others are talking to the surge protector right now, but I know that you're more than capable of handling tanks, should it come to that.." _I haven't felt like this since my game got unplugged. It's only hitting me now.. I was the only one who made it out that day.._ He crossed his arms. "I could really use your help.." _I hate to ask you a favor like this.._

"Sure thing, bromigo.." Bobby said sincerely, "Whatever you need, just ask. I know this sort of thing hits close to home.." _It wasn't that long ago.._

"..I appreciate it," Sonny said with a somber smile, "You know.. My offer still stands on making you a human avatar if you want one.." _You have one in the future, no doubt. It'll be easier for you to get around too..  
_

"I'm still thinking about it," Bobby said with a laugh, "I'd need an alias and stuff like that though, wouldn't I? I'm no good with that sort of thing." _It'd be nice to try this eating thing that everyone else does though.. And drink this 'root beer' stuff I've heard of._

"How about 'Bobby Dunderson'?" Sonny asked tentatively, "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? We could be brothers, sort of." _I don't know why I chose the last name Dunderson in the first place, but it's not so bad._

"That actually does sound nice.." Bobby said while rotating just enough to destroy an incoming asteroid as well as the smaller pieces which broke off. _Shoo, we're talking here.._ "Alright, do it." _I'll be able to go inside other games so much easier afterward, with people not knowing who I am.. Practically a dream come true. Why did I wait this long?  
_

* * *

After letting it sink in, William adjusted his glasses, sighed, and said, "Well, I don't know how much of that is **true**.." _Coming from the future? It's laughable.._

"It's true," Roxie said firmly, "We could show you the memory files if you need further proof, but for right now I think it's more important to make sure no games get unplugged.." She cracked her knuckles. _Least of all **mine**.._

"You do realize you could all **die**, right?" William asked dryly. _I'm supposed to protect games from getting unplugged and you all want to throw caution to the wind and blitz right on into danger where not just one game, but **three** could get unplugged as a result in a worst-case scenario.._

"I'm willing to take that risk," Jet said firmly while clenching a fist in front of him. Suddenly he was hit by a wave of extreme dizziness and nearly passed out. He slammed his hand against the side of the gateway to hold himself up and nearly retched. Breathing heavily, he placed his other hand over his heart and looked at it worriedly. _I'm alive.._

"Are you okay, Jet?" Felix asked worriedly as he instinctively pulled out his hammer. _Well it doesn't fix queasiness.._

Jet shut his eyes tight and shook his head before retching. _Now I remember what happened after the Bad-Anon meeting.. I **died**.. Acid.. Someone wearing a cloak.._ "I'm.. I'm fine," he said in a relieved, yet shaken tone after a moment, "I think I'm about to get **shot**.." He wiped his mouth with a Tapper's napkin which was oddly enough offered to him by Turbo without a word. He cautiously looked around the crowds moving through Game Central Station. _Someone shoots me out here.._

"Shot.." Ralph said firmly while furrowing his brow. He clenched his fists and scanned the crowds as well.

"There.." Jet shakily pointed at someone across the station.

He could hardly be seen, but he had taken a similar stance to Jet, holding himself up against the gateway to Battlezone. He was wearing a low-ranking mid 1940's army outfit. When he saw he'd been spotted, he glitched back inside the tunnel before William had a notion to zip over and grab him.

"I guess you could say you dodged a bullet," William said dryly, "You **still** want to go in there?" _He could be anywhere in there with an ability like that.. I'll have to be on guard._

"I was hoping we could just talk this out.." Jet said somberly as he slumped down across from the mess he had made. He placed the base of his palm on his forehead as he leaned his head against the cool metal of the gateway. _Not only that, but the guy is a glitch.. Or **ex**-glitch, I guess would be the correct term, since he isn't bound to his game..  
_

* * *

**Author's Note:** It helps to think of the cyclops butler as Lurch from 'The Addams Family'. By Maleficently-designed, I obviously mean it's similar in appearance to Maleficent's castle :p.


	19. Parlor Talk

"I think we should wait for the others to come back," Felix said cautiously, "And we have to be careful about gunshots now apparently." _I'm probably the only one in this group besides William who can avoid gunshots.._

"I wish I could bring my car.." Roxie sad with a sigh, "I could probably steal one of their tanks though if that turns out to be necessary. Kind of hard for gunshots to destroy a tank." _Although I've never driven a tank before.._

"**Other** tanks on the other hand.." Turbo said wryly, "It's a good idea, don't get me wrong, but I think that it's still a bit reckless considering how slow tanks are in the first place. Plus the turret would turn pretty slow, right? I think we don't need to worry so much about the tanks. It's bullets that are the real issue considering how fast they are.." _One shot and you'd be done for, with the exception of Felix's hammer._

"There aren't that many people in Battlezone in the first place," Jet said after having calmed down some more, "But we absolutely can't get caught.. I still think we should try reasoning with them.. It's my and Set's fault their game got unplugged in the future I come from. Mostly Set's though.."

"So we're just going to wait?" Turbo asked tiredly, "You know, at this rate the arcade will open and nothing will get resolved.."

"And I already said that I've got it under control.." William said with a sigh, "Leave it to me why don't you?"

"Because if **you're** busy with just one of those guys," Turbo said bitterly, "What's to keep the others, however many there are, from shooting up everyone out here, or at least threatening to?"

"Calm down, Turbo," Roxie said while patting him on the head, "You've got a point, but stop getting so mad all the time."

Turbo practically growled. _You just have to do that in front of people, don't you? It's not helping. I know I need to calm down, but telling me to do so has the opposite effect._ He sighed.

"So now we wait.." Ralph said with a sigh, "For how long?" _I can't really complain. I used to 'wait' alone all the time.._

"At least until one of them comes back.." Jet said nervously, "Sonny and Bobby would be a huge help, so would Sorceress.." _Set, not so much. He'd probably get himself killed by being reckless. That's what led to him killing himself in the future I came from.._

"Great. **More** games getting put at risk," William said tiredly and shook his head, "You guys stay here, I'll be back in a while." _I'll check to see what they're up to._ He zipped over to Battlezone.

* * *

After looking over Set once more, the cyclops butler dryly said, "Wait out here.." He slowly closed the door in Set's face.

Once the butler was gone, Set's face was plastered with a wide, toothy grin once more. _She's here!_ He fought the urge to do a fist pump in the air. _Calm down, straighten up.. How many times have the words 'straighten up' been used today?_ He cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets while pushing a small rock around on the ground with his foot. _This woman excites me to no end.._

A few moments passed and Sorceress finally floated to the front door and peered out once her butler opened it for her. _I wonder what's so important.._ "Yes?" she asked softly with a look of bemusement on her face. _I didn't expect to see him again so soon.. Did something happen between him and Turbo already?_

Set grinned before remembering once again he's supposed to be serious. "Hey Sorceress.. It's uh, sort of a long story, not sure where to begin.." _Can I come inside? That'd be freakin' sweet.._

Sorceress shifted her jaw in thought. _You want in.._ "Would you like to come inside and have a seat?"

"I'd like that," Set said with a grin, "It'll help me think." _I think I woke her up.._ "Sorry if I woke you.." _Why am I apologizing? Oh well.._

Sorceress smiled warmly for a brief moment and said, "It's okay.. Come this way." She let Set inside, and led him through a small portion of the creepy castle which had numerous sets of armor on stands as decoration, in addition to a large portrait of her. _I don't think I've ever even had a guest here before.. I don't really have anything to offer in the way of human food. Well, I- is he even human? I'm curious about that, but it would be rude to ask.._

"This painting is beautiful," Set said wryly as he stopped to admire it, "Who painted it, if I might ask?" _I hope it wasn't too soon to call her beautiful, even if it was indirectly.. I wish I could redo this moment._

"O-oh, I'm not sure," Sorceress said surprisedly, "It came with the game, so.." _I think I see where this is __headed__. __I __really __don't know about that though.. __Especially given his tendency towards pranks __and me being what I am.._

"I see," Set said with a chuckle as they moved on. _I flustered her. That's a good sign._

They soon made their way to her parlor and the two sat in large, comfortable, yet dusty armchairs. The room had no fewer than four large bookshelves filled with books on various occultic subjects and a coffee table between the four armchairs in the room.

"It's a bit dusty, sorry.." Sorceress said in a sheepish tone, "I don't make a habit of having guests over.." _I guess he is kind of cute with his little round, grey nose.. __I wonder if he has hair._

"I don't mind.." Set said with a smile, "I'm not here for the castle or anything." _That reminds me, I've got business to discuss.._

"Right.. You said you had something **important** to discuss.." Sorceress said in a dignified tone as she shifted in her seat.

"Well it's actually pretty serious, but we're out of the danger zone at the moment," Set said with a sigh as he leaned back into the dusty armchair, which made him cough slightly, "Sometime while my brother and I were here with Turbo, someone had placed a kill screen on our game.."

Sorceress worriedly sat up straight and lightly clenched her hands into the armrests of her armchair. _A __**kill screen**__? Someone 'placed' it?_

"It's okay though," Set said pointedly with a soft smile, "We fixed that, but the person who did it is still out there and I was sort of wondering if you could maybe help us find them. Not that I want to put you in danger or anything, I just thought that you're pretty strong, and I **know** I can trust you.."

"I don't know if I'll be able to help you.." Sorceress said with a frown, "I can't really handle sunlight.. I'm a.. vampire.." She nearly mumbled those last words. _One more reason for you to stay away from me.._

"You're also a vampire?" Set asked with a chuckle, "I don't know if Battlezone is day or night.. hmm.." _Didn't expect her to be a vampire on top of being a sorceress Bad Girl.._

"You **seriously** don't care that I'm a vampire?" Sorceress asked curiously as she slightly untensed, "**Drinking blood** and the like?" _Why aren't you terrified of me?_

"Well I'm sure you only do that because of your programming," Set said with a laugh, "You haven't bitten **me** yet, right? Does it hurt?" _I almost want __her__ to bite me to find out, but that'd be too messed up to say, __I'm sure__.._

"I.. I don't think so.." Sorceress said with a frown, "But about your game. Is it okay? How did you fix it?" _I don't like talking about it.._

"Well um.. I know it sounds impossible, but Jet is apparently from the future.." Set said with a sheepish laugh, "He brought us into this room where all the game's files are stored and showed us the dates on his memory files and everything. They're from 2013. 25 and a half years from now!" _Something like that.._ "I can show you if you want, I just need Jet to open the door for us.."_ I guess I'm too aloof to have access by myself. Fair enough __though__.._

"Hmm," Sorceress said contemplatively, "That's more than just unexpected. I'm used to magic, but **time travel**?" _Although I do like the concept of time travel.. __But what's this about a room with game files in it? __I guess the situation isn't that bad anymore considering how relaxed he is about it.._

"Yeah, it's weird.. So you can't handle sunlight?" Set asked softly. _That's kind of depressing when I think about it.. Has she tried going out in sunlight to t__est__ it?_

"No.." Sorceress said with a sigh as she leaned back into her armchair softly, "It's not so bad though, is it?"

"It just seems a little inconvenient.." Set said. He drummed his fingers across the left armrest of the armchair he was sitting in. _Should I just ask her out and get it over with? If she says no, what's the worst that could happen? Let's do it.._ "Sorry, I gotta ask.. Are you single?"

Sorceress blinked a few times as the sudden question sunk in. _I wasn't expecting him to ask __**this **__soon, although I did expect it eventually.._ "Are you really sure you would want to go out with a **vampire**?" she asked apprehensively, "I never really paid much mind to that sort of thing before.." _I__'d probably __end up biting you, you know?_

"I don't mind in the slightest," Set said wryly, "In fact I find the thought kind of exciting. Oh, and I haven't pranked anyone since leaving here earlier. I'll be good, promise." _If she agrees to it, then jackpot! You know what? Forget about pranks.. At least for now._

"Exciting?" Sorceress asked curiously, "Is that really how you think about it?" _So he really meant he would try not to prank anyone.. Well, but there was a kill screen on his game, so he didn't really have time regardless. Changing isn't that easy, especially since he was so sure he couldn't do it earlier.._

"Yeah," Set said excitedly, "I mean look at this place! You've got this awesome castle, your **butler** is awesome, from what little I've seen of him.. You're **beautiful**, strong, dignified.. Really you're **perfect**." _Damn this has my blood pumping._

"W-well I wouldn't go that far.." Sorceress said nervously as she wished for a spell to disappear if even for a moment. _You hardly even know me, why are you able to say all that so easily? __I'm not that used to talking to anyone other than Roger and the villagers.._

"C'mon, I mean it," Set said softly with a smile, "It'll be fun.." _I have to be softer in my approach, I guess. I don't want to 'scare' her.._

"What is it exactly you're expecting?" Sorceress asked after somehow managing to compose herself once more. _I'm not exactly sure what I'm asking with that, but let's hear it.._

"What am I expecting?" Set asked curiously as he pulled his helmet off to relieve an itch, revealing his messy black hair. _What __**am**__ I expecting? __Sex, and __**lots**__ of it eventually, of course. But __I can't say that, and __it's not __**just**__ that, is it?_ "That question is harder than I thought it would be to answer. I just really want to be with you, I guess." He laughed. "Is there something wrong with that?" _That question is going to bother me for a while. __What else is there?_

Sorceress fidgeted with the fabric of her dress on her crossed legs. _He wants to be with me.. _"I guess we can give it a shot.." she said nervously, "Just don't get out of hand like you were earlier.." _I can't accept something like that persisting._

"You've got my word," Set said with a grin, "So do you think there's anything that can be done about your intolerance to sunlight? If you would like to help, I mean.." _I knew I'd get her. I need to be careful though if I'm going to keep her._

"I don't think so," Sorceress said solemnly, "I was programmed to be like this.." _I'm just glad it doesn't result in an instant game over.._

"Wanna come anyway?" Set asked softly, "Just in case Battlezone's environment is night time?" _She's too good.. How is she a Bad Girl?_

"I suppose," Sorceress said with a smile as the two got up, "But you **really** don't mind that I'm a vampire?" _I find that really hard to accept.. _She floated in place, never being one for walking. Why walk when you can float?

"Nope," Set scoffed, "Come on, it's fi~ne." _It's no surprise she would expect otherwise though, with all __the anti-Bad Guy sentiment in the arcade. _

* * *

After an hour of careful tweaking, Bobby's human form was finally completed. He had extremely curly brown hair and an outfit that practically screamed 'hippie'. He had a light blue headband with a peace sign on its side to keep his hair out of his brown eyes, which matched the vest he wore over a white collared button up shirt, topped off with a peace sign medallion. He also had bell bottom jeans and sandals.

"Good?" Sonny asked hopefully as Bobby inspected his new appearance. _We spent longer on this than I expected.._

"Ooh.. Like it," Bobby said with a laugh and thumbs up before attentively moving his arms around to practice. _He raised a brow and inhaled deeply before rapidly letting the breath out. I gotta do that to stay alive, huh? Breathe in, breathe out.._

"Just remember that this form is a **bit** more fragile than your original form," Sonny warned, "Well, we're stronger than the average characters but much more than this and you'd tire yourself out faster than the game can compensate for." _It took a while __for me __to find the perfect balance._

Bobby glitched between his human and ship forms as practice. "Should I be worried about this happening by accident during gameplay, bromigo?" _This is pretty sweet, but I don't want to risk my game getting unplugged because players see a little man floating around instead of a ship.._

"You'll be fine so long as you don't **try** to switch.." Sonny said confidently after shaking his head, "So shall we go?" _They've probably gone on without us by now though.._

"Bring it on, man," Bobby said with a fist pump, "I'm ready whenever you are.." _I feel like I could do cartwheels in this body.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** I figured it was about time Set asked Sorceress out. He's not really one to beat around the bush in the first place.


	20. Get Better

Set and Sorceress ignored the alarm at the gateway as they left 'Blood and Thunder' since the surge protector didn't show up.

"Guess it's nothing.." Set said with a grin as he shrugged it off. _He's probably taking care of our problem. He'd better be doing his job.._

"Watch out, Bad Guy!" a small angel angel kid whispered to his sister as they scampered out of the way.

"Want me to chase them down?" Set asked in a highly annoyed tone. _I'll remember that!_

"Don't you dare," Sorceress warned softly, "That will only make things worse for all Bad Guys.. Besides, they're kids.. Angel kids." _From the game Angel Kids._

"We really need to do something about this idiotic Bad Guy hate.." Set said bitterly, "That's something Jet wanted us to start doing yesterday, but I see how big of a problem it is now.." _I can't let that continue. Not when it affects my.. What's the word? I don't think it's 'friends'.. Allies, yeah, that's it._

"Just don't do anything drastic, okay?" Sorceress said, "How **you** behave affects how people see **me** too."_ It's nice that he wants to help, but his priorities are quite skewed._

"Good point," Set said with a nod, "Well something has to be done about it sooner or later."

"Just let it go for now," Sorceress said pleadingly, "Besides, you've got more important things to worry about." _The one guy in the arcade with the guts to ask me out despite knowing I'm a vampire also has the guts to start all kinds of trouble. Figures.._ Set simply nodded in response.

"Heyo~!" Set said excitedly as he and Sorceress approached the gateway of Turbo Time, "Guys, this is Sorceress. She's my girlfriend, so don't get any ideas." He chuckled. _Man I'm psyched. I'll figure something out about the other thing with Jet later._

"Shh.." Sorceress said while looking around sheepishly, "You're drawing too much attention.." _I abhor crowds, and I don't need you making one around me.._

"Sorry, sorry," Set said wryly, "I couldn't hold it in." _She's certainly a bit different once she gets to talking. I wouldn't have pegged her as the kind that gets embarrassed like this, but this too is cute._

"So you're actually going out with him?" Turbo asked incredulously as he was leaning against the gateway next to Roxie. He had his arms crossed and his face was fixed in a wry grin. "I'll warn you, you're in for a rough time.." _He can get worse than this. I'm surprised he hasn't yet._

"So I've gathered," Sorceress said plainly. _He seems to have forgotten about the whole spider thing, thankfully._

"So did you have a talk with your spiders about being a bit more hospitable to guests when the arcade is closed?" Turbo asked as he cocked a brow. _Before I forget. Not that I want to go back in there by any means._

_Drats._ "Yes.." Sorceress said as she furrowed her brow disgruntledly. _It was still **your** fault. I don't feel like arguing about it again though, it'll go nowhere._

"Excellent," Turbo said with a grin, "Then all is forgiven." _I'll have to have a bit of a 'talk' with Set. He will not be bothering **me** if he wants to stay in his **girlfriend's** good graces._

Sorceress scoffed._ Like I'm the one at fault here. I don't like this guy._

"You'll have to forgive him," Roxie said as she rolled her eyes, "He's trying." _She and Turbo seem to have had a disagreement of sorts.. About spiders, of all things._

Turbo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Roxie.. **Why** are you making this difficult?_

"I'm Roxie, nice to meet you," she said wryly as she extended her hand, which Sorceress reluctantly shook. _There's so many different kinds of people in this arcade.. I wonder what her game is like, but now isn't really the time for it.  
_

"Likewise," Sorceress said with a nod. _She's nice. I guess that goes without saying if she's here with Jet and Set. But then again she's also with Turbo. I wonder if she knows exactly what she's getting into with him.._

"So how much longer are we going to be waiting around then?" Set asked, "Are we waiting for Sonny? Come to think of it the surge protector isn't around either."

"Waiting on either, really," Jet said with a sigh, "Sonny went talk to Bobby. William went to Battlezone to scout it out or something." _No idea what he's up to in there though. I really want to just get up and go do something about it, but I've only got one try at this. I shouldn't expect to come back every time I die in the future.._

* * *

"Sonny, this body is awesome," Bobby said with a laugh as he slowly walked on his hands beside Sonny. They were headed towards Turbo Time. _I should have agreed to getting a human form long ago. I bet I could probably break dance too.._

"Right," Sonny scoffed, "Let's just not forget what we're up against." _I knew he would enjoy having a human body, but** this** much?_

Bobby flipped back onto his feet and said, "Sorry, this is just so cool." He laughed. "I'll get used to it before long, relax. So what's the Battlezone guys' beef with Turbo Time? Their game does pretty good for players too, right?"

"That's difficult to explain.." Sonny said with a sigh as they got to Turbo Time's gateway, "Jet, you can explain it better I'm sure.." _I'm surprised they're still here.._

"Explain which part?" Jet asked worriedly. _Bobby looks exactly the same as he does in the future I came from. Did he really not have a human form until now?_

"Hey there ladies," Bobby said with an excited grin, "The name's Bobby." _Dude, look at those jeans.. Apparently looks aren't the only thing that came with this body.. Yikes._

"Why the guys from Battlezone would want Turbo Time unplugged.." Sonny said plainly, "You would know better than anyone how to explain it." _You're the one from the future, you should know what you can and can't tell him.._

"Oh** boy**," Turbo said while rolling his eyes. _This guy apparently can't keep a secret worth a crap.. **And** he's eyeing my woman. _He crossed his arms and got in front of Roxie. _She's taken, step off._

"'Oh boy' is right," Set said with a laugh. _Honestly I could care less if everyone finds out Jet is from the future. What are they going expect from him? Psychic readings?_

"Is someone getting worried?" Roxie wryly asked Turbo as she patted him on the head again. _I wish he'd take the damn helmet off at least. I'd think he was bald if not for him relieving an itch earlier._

"Roxie.." Turbo said as he turned around and stared at her tiredly. _You're beginning to piss me off with that. It'd be different if it were just the two of us, but there's a gathering._

Roxie laughed and said, "We'll be right back."_ I made him mad again, best to let him calm down in here before he makes a scene. _"Come on, Turbo." The two of them walked further into the tunnel, though she had a feeling they would likely still be heard talking if they raised their voices.

"Roxie," Turbo said with a sigh as he shifted his jaw, "I'm glad you're having fun, but could you **please** quit that?"

"Quit what exactly?" Roxie asked wryly. _As if I didn't know.._

"You keep patting me on the head like I'm some kind of invalid," Turbo said in a low, annoyed tone.

"And **you** keep being rude," Roxie said plainly, "Your point? I'm not going to instantly dump you because some tall, non-grey hippie comes along and takes a look at my jeans.." _Everybody seems to be doing it and it didn't bother him until now.._

"Well I seemed to be such a **bother** to you **before**," Turbo said, "How the hell am I supposed to know what goes on in your head?" _We haven't even done it yet, you know?_

"Yeah, well I may have been a bit out of line with my grey skin comments.." Roxie said with a wide shrug, "I still wish you were taller though. Your head is the only thing I can reach without bending down so awkwardly. Thus the head patting." _Not that I would make a habit of grabbing onto him in public in the slightest._

"Well don't do that," Turbo said with a sigh, "It makes me look bad." _Like I enjoy being short._

"You made yourself look bad first with what you just pulled," Roxie said pointedly, "You practically stood in front of me like an animal guarding its territory." _Slight exaggeration, but it's about the same._

"Well what **should** I have done in that situation, if I might ask?" Turbo asked bitterly. _It's always worked before without much problem._

"Well for **one** thing you could have **trusted** me to tell him to piss off if he kept on.." Roxie said pointedly, "In nicer words, of course."

"Well when the most intimacy we've had is a single hug, is it any wonder I have doubts about how you might feel about me?" Turbo asked with a wide shrug. _Our relationship is rocky at best._

"Give me a **break**, Turbo," Roxie said with a sigh, "I **told** you I'm not used to touching people." _Hell, I don't even know the people in my own game yet._

Turbo gritted his teeth and breathed deeply through his nose. _She did say_ _that._ He rolled one of his hands into a fist and tapped his forehead with his knuckles a few times, taking another deep breath as he did so. "Alright, I'm sorry.."

"Good," Roxie said as she took a deep breath. _You should be._

"How badly am I doing?" Turbo asked worriedly, "I can't imagine you liking me too much right now.."

"That's hard to say," Roxie said plainly, "When you're not treating me like your **property** or being rude to people in general, you're not bad." _Good, in fact._

"My **property**?" Turbo scoffed, "Come on, I don't think that.. As for being rude, well.. That's not entirely my fault. That's just how it comes out." _For real, how long are we going to be waiting for that damn surge protector?_

"Sure fooled me," Roxie said dryly, "And be more mindful of what you say. Count to 10 in your head if you have to."

"By then whatever I say would lose its edge!" Turbo said, "Racers are best when they're sharp!" _Now isn't even the time for puns. What the hell is wrong with me?_

"Then count to **three**!" Roxie said incredulously, "How about this, okay? The longer you go without pissing people off, the more I'll consider you worth keeping."

"So now I'm **your** property?" Turbo asked. _I feel like we're going around in circles here._

"I didn't even mean it like that.." Roxie said with an exasperated sigh as she slumped down against the wall across from one side of the race car-shaped mine carts. _Why is this so damn frustrating?_

_One, two, three.._ Turbo took a deep breath and slumped down beside her. "Roxie, darlin'.. I'm sorry.. I'm **really** sorry, okay?" _I can't keep doing this.. _"I've been out of line.."

"I haven't really been helping.." Roxie said frustratedly as she leaned her head against the wall and looked up at the greyish-blue curved ceiling, "I've only been making things worse with my own attitude, haven't I?" _I'm such a damn hypocrite, it isn't even funny._

"Well, I won't lie," Turbo said sincerely, "You're difficult to handle at times. But to say you've **only** made things worse? Not by a long shot.."

"Gee, thanks," Roxie said somberly, "I just wish you were like **this** all the time. It's like you're always playing 'mood roulette' or something and it's almost always landing on bitterness and pride."

"I'm sorry.." Turbo said with a sigh, "I'll get better, I **swear**.. Do you want a hug?" He rubbed her raised knee lovingly. _Why do I always push people away?_

"I think I'd like that, but I don't feel like getting up," Roxie said somberly as she wrapped her arm over his shoulders and pulled him closer, "But you **need** to get better. I can't tolerate this frustration forever." _How long are we going to be waiting here?_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'll endeavor to get them inside Battlezone in the next chapter.


	21. Inside Battlezone

"Just ignore it," Jet said with a sigh, "It'll be fine.." _Although maybe **not** such a good idea to leave them be._ "Actually, I'll go have a talk with them.." _They aren't arguing anymore right now, at least._ He slowly got up from from the floor where he was leaning against the gateway to Turbo Time near the others and walked further into the tunnel near the waiting mine carts and over to the couple who until just then had been bickering back and forth like children.. At least in his mind.

"Now I'm kinda bummed out, man.." Bobby said with a sigh. _Is that argument my fault?_

"He's just like that," Set said bitterly, "It's nothing you did." _Just don't eye up **my** girlfriend and we're cool._

"Just don't make it worse," Sorceress said pointedly. _Because you probably would if I didn't say anything._

"I wasn't gonna," Set said with an innocent, nervous laugh. _She knows.. Turbo needs to be taught a lesson though. I guess I can let Jet try to sort it out._

"Uh huh," Sorceress said dryly.

"You guys doing okay?" Jet asked the couple who were still cuddled against each other tentatively. _You seem to be doing better at least.._

"We're **fine**, Futureman.." Turbo said in a hushed tone. _I appreciate the concern somewhat, but seriously? Mind your own business._

Roxie shook Turbo by the shoulder, which she was holding onto at the time. _Not if you start up again._

Turbo shook his head and sighed. _One, two, three.._

"You guys want to just go to Battlezone now?" Jet asked nervously, "I think the wait is getting to all of us.." _Let's see if we can do this without dying though.._

"Might as well," Turbo scoffed, "How hard could it be?"

"We're up against at** least** one ex-glitch.." Jet said pointedly, "I think that all bets are off." _I don't know if my nerves can take this.._

"How does one **stop** being a glitch in the first place?" Turbo asked incredulously as he and Roxie slowly stood up.

"Code manipulation, I'm sure," Jet said with a sigh, "I'm no expert when it comes to that kind of thing though. That's why I needed Sonny's help in the first place."_ I probably used to have some skill at it, but King Candy made sure to delete that.._

"Makes sense," Turbo said with a shrug, "So let's go."

The three made their way back to the others.

"You guys ready to go?" Jet asked nervously as he scratched his neck, "William is taking too long." _I'd rather not let this continue past today.._

"So since when are you on a first name basis with the surge protector anyways?" Turbo asked. _William this, William that._

"Since 25 years in the future, I'm sure," Ralph scoffed with his arms crossed before furrowing his brow. _Oops. I shouldn't have said that in front of this Bobby guy, right?_

"The future?" Bobby scoffed, "That's far out, bro." _I wonder what's up with that._

Jet slapped his hand to his face disgruntledly. _Thanks, Ralph._

"Before we go, I gotta ask," Set said pointedly, "Is it day or night in there?" _We've got a vampire here, so.._

"It's set at night," Jet said as he crossed his arms and shifted his stance slightly, "And there should **really** only be like 10 guys in there at most. But there's also a UFO and guided missiles.." _I almost forgot that Sorceress is a vampire.._

"There's a UFO in Battlezone, dude?" Bobby asked with a laugh, "There's two in my game."_ I wonder if they're related._

Set grinned at Sorceress. _You can come along, see?_

Sorceress simply nodded in response to his grin. _I'll do what I can.._

The group of nine anxiously made their way through the hustle and bustle of Game Central Station, gaining the attention of nearly everyone along the way.

Two people were especially displeased with what they saw. "Good Guys mixing with Bad Guys.." one said bitterly in a hushed tone to his partner. _What's this arcade coming to?_

"Somebody has to do something about that," the other said just as bitterly as he clenched his fist, "It may as well be **us**." _Before this disease spreads..  
_

"Agreed," the first said as he narrowed his eyes at the gateway to Battlezone as the group of nine went inside, "But let's wait for now." _Patience is key._

Rather than Sonic, there was a warning announcement playing nearby about dying outside of one's game given by Ryu from the game Street Fighter, as 'Sonic the Hedgehog' wasn't due to be plugged in until 6 years later.

* * *

The group of nine had just boarded the heavily armored train leading into Battlezone. The seats were metal and highly uncomfortable, not unlike something you would maybe expect on the train Hero's Duty would later have, except **that** train didn't have seats at all.

"You know, I just realized," Sonny said with a hint of worry as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "They'll probably hear this train coming and investigate. They know we saw the would be assassin come in here.." _I'm not so much worried for myself or Bobby, but the racers and Felix are considerably more fragile. Ralph is a bit of a toss up, I don't know what kind of damage he can take._

"Jaminy," Felix said anxiously, "We should have discussed this more **before** boarding. What can we expect right as we go in, Jet?" _I hope you remember what it's like. Be brief._

"The terrain sort of wraps around during gameplay," Jet said as he wrung his hands nervously. He could feel his anxiety mounting by the second. "But their base isn't far from the entrance. There's an elevator leading down to it disguised as a large stone cube.." _We're in over our heads, I think.._

"I expect there will be mines hidden as well," Sonny said pointedly with his arms crossed, "They were left in the hallway in front of Turbo Time's code room."

"So we've been told," Set said with a nod. _I'm actually a little nervous about this as well. It's exciting.._ He grinned briefly. _I hope Sorceress didn't see that. I don't need her thinking I'm some kind of nut._

"What's the plan?" Ralph asked while leaning back with his arms crossed, "Are we going to break into their code room right away? Or did you want to try reasoning with them like you indicated before?" _If it were up to me I'd try reasoning with them.._

"While reasoning with them would be** ideal**," Jet said as he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I honestly don't think they'll give us a chance to talk unless they're unable to do anything to us." _I'm not so confident in **my** ability to do that.._ "And even then I don't think they would believe us."

"What kind of weapons do they have besides mines?" Sorceress asked as she anxiously eyed her fingernails before looking Jet in the eyes. _Bullets shouldn't be that big of a deal to **me**. So long as they don't hit my heart, at least. That would kill just about anyone except for maybe a zombie._

"Well, they've got access to semi-automatic rifles, though that's not part of gameplay at all," Jet said before momentarily gritting his teeth, "Aside from that, there's just what you guys already know what to expect." The train came to a sudden stop, which coincided with his heart skipping a beat. _Should I get out first?_

"I'll check it out first," Sonny said as he patted Jet on the shoulder before standing up. _He's a nervous wreck. I'd commend him for going this far, but it would probably sound condescending._ He walked out of the train followed by Bobby who was looking around anxiously, unable to see much aside from the crude landscape before him which was nearly pitch black as far as the eye could see. _How can these guys see anything out here? And where are they?_

"You any good with a gun, Turbo?" Roxie asked as she pulled out a pistol. _Hopefully we won't need to hurt anyone, but just in case.. It's not like they won't regenerate anyway since this is their game._

"You've been hiding a gun this whole time?" Turbo asked with a nervous laugh as he worriedly eyed the gun in her hand. _She's more dangerous than I thought. I should have known though, with guns being on her car of all places.._ "I've never fired a gun before in my life, I'll have you know.." _Hell, I haven't even **seen** one up close, thank Konami._

"Don't sound so surprised," Roxie scoffed, "You could use my switchblade if you'd prefer.." _Just something to keep you safer.._

"Sheesh," Turbo said with a nervous laugh, "What else do you have hidden, I wonder? Do you have a rocket launcher?" _You could probably make a pile of weapons on the spot, couldn't you?_

"Only for emergencies," Roxie said as she rolled her eyes, "Actually there **is** one in my game, but it's gameplay-use only. Do you want some protection or not?" _You're short so you're harder to hit, but you could still die in here. Maybe this was a bad idea.._

"I think I'd sooner take the knife," Turbo said nervously as he gingerly held out his hand and took the small switchblade, "I'd probably end up shooting my foot or something if I had a gun." _Turbo-freakin'-tastic.. Today is just all sorts of crazy. I hope I don't have to use this thing.._

"It's all clear as far as I can tell," Sonny said softly as he poked his head back into the train. _Not a soul in sight.._

"Yeah, there's like **nobody** around, bro," Bobby said with a smile. _Maybe they went to sleep._

The others tentatively left the train and cautiously examined the world before them. Immediately noticeable, despite the piercing darkness, were large stone pyramids and cubes dotted across the map. They were large enough for a tank to hide behind, though the reasoning behind them being there was flimsy at best. Also of note was an active volcano out on the horizon among several other mountains.

"It's this one, I think," Jet said apprehensively as he cautiously made his way to the closest large stone cube while looking around.

The others followed close behind, being sure to pay close attention to any potential movement in the area. It was strangely quiet on the surface, as if the game were deserted.

"They must **all** be down there.." Sorceress said pointedly. _I'll have to stick close to Set to make sure he doesn't get hurt. I don't like this.._

"Even the UFO?" Bobby asked confusedly._ How would a UFO fit into this?_

"You're a space ship," Sonny said plainly. _They probably have human bodies too by now if they've been to the code room here. Is that where they are now?_

"Good point," Bobby said with a laugh. _I didn't think about that._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey, they're actually in Battlezone. I wonder if anyone is able to guess who the two 'displeased' guys are.


	22. Despondence

Jet pressed a discrete button on the otherwise entirely smooth surface of the large stone cube. The sound of pressure equalizing could be heard as the front side of the cube slid down to reveal a hidden elevator. The inside of the elevator was entirely made of a bright metal alloy and had an air of sterility about it. The bright white light coming down from the ceiling of the elevator was welcome, yet somewhat blinding in contrast to the near pitch black darkness of the outside of the game.

"These guys used to be nice, actually.." Jet said earnestly, with a hint of sadness as he squinted his eyes, "Being mostly Bad Guys and all, they were fairly eager to make friends.." _They showed us around the base, and what did we do in return?_

They got into the surprisingly spacious elevator and Jet skeptically entered a four digit numerical code on a security panel before selecting the bottom level of the hidden facility. _They didn't change it?.._

"Maybe we can still talk to them then.." Felix said hopefully as the cube sealed itself once more, "People don't change that drastically. We should try to convince them first.." _They might be just as scared of the future as Jet is.._

"Yeah.." Jet said tensely, "I just hope we get that chance." _I think we've already messed up, breaking into their __base__. __Even though they started it._ He shook his head. _Set and I started it._ He shook his head again. _**Turbo**__ started it. __But we're still to blame._

Set kept his arms crossed and lightly scoffed to himself. _I hope it doesn't go so well. This is __**exciting**__. I want to at least try busting some heads first._

After a painful wait, the elevator stopped all the way down at floor 13. When the doors opened, they were immediately met with a semi-automatic rifle pointed at them.

Before any of them could fully register the situation, the gun-wielding soldier opened fire on the highest priority target he was briefed on: Felix. _T__he short one with the hammer__._

Felix didn't even have time to think, let alone say, "Oh boo," before clutching his chest and falling face down on the cold metallic floor of the elevator they shared. _No.. _With the suddenness of it all, he was in far too much shock to do anything, let alone hit himself with his quickly bled out and disintegrated into soft blue binary before disappearing entirely without a trace.

Ralph immediately went into shock, seeing his brother and best friend game over before his eyes a single day after they made nice. _This can't be happening.._ He fell to his knees and softly placed a giant hand over where Felix's body was just a moment before. _Felix.._

Sonny, though also in shock, managed to glitch behind the soldier and put him in a choke hold while gritting his teeth. _You bastard!_ "We **weren't** going to hurt you!" He growled as he tightened the pressure he was putting on the soldier's neck with his arms. _If he wouldn't regenerate I'd kill him.._

The soldier gasped for air futilely as the life was slowly choked out of him. _Damn __it__! I have to take at least one more.._ He raised his gun and managed to shoot Roxie in the stomach once.

The other bullets ricocheted back into the soldier and Sonny, instantly killing them both, when Sorceress cast a barrier spell in front of them. "Roxie!" Sorceress said worriedly as she turned to assess the damage. _Why don't I know any __**healing**__ spells?! Sonny died too. Now Roxie is going to die.. _She breathed a frustrated, quavering breath and shook her head despondently as tears welled in her eyes. _If only I could have cast the barrier spell __**sooner**__.._

Ralph got to his feet and effortlessly passed through the light blue, semi-solid barrier before slamming his open palm towards the soldier who had regenerated and into the reinforced concrete wall of the hallway to pin him down. _It's taking every ounce of willpower to keep from killing this guy.. _The soldier's gun dropped at Jet's feet.

Jet nearly choked on a grief-stricken breath as he nervously picked up the semi-automatic rifle and gripped it tightly in his hands. _Go back. Go back. __**Go back**__! Its happened twice __so far__! Why can't I just undo this?! _Frustrated tears streamed down his cheeks. _I can't just __**kill**__ myself. I can't be sure I'll wake up in the past again. Or __**at all**__. Not only that, but what about __**this**__ timeline?_

Through enraged tears, Ralph was still trying his hardest not to kill the soldier as he tightened his grip on him. _This guy killed __**Felix**__, and now Sonny. Roxie won't last at this rate.._ He clenched his teeth in frustration. "We just wanted to talk!" Ralph said frustratedly as he noticed the fear in the soldier's eyes, "..Yeah, you **should** be afraid. You're a murderer, after all!" _You killed __**Felix**__ of all people! __What would he have possibly done to you?!_

Jet blinked away his tears as best he could as he apprehensively walked past Ralph and stood in the middle of the hallway. _Nobody should die alone.. _He shook his head despondently. _Felix, Sonny, __Roxie, I'm so sorry.._

"You don't even know.." the soldier said shakenly in a pained tone. _How dare you protect __**them**__?!_

Roxie slumped against the back of the elevator while clutching the right side of her stomach with her left hand as the strength in her legs left her. She winced intensely and eased down as softly as she could. _Damn __it all__.._

Bobby struggled to cope with the loss of his best friend as he leaned against the open door of the elevator taking several deep, quavering breaths. _It isn't supposed to be like this. Sonny.. What am I __supposed__ to do __without my best bromigo?_

Roxie swallowed hard as a few drops of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. _Turbo, don't look at me like that.._ Tears welled in their eyes as Turbo pulled her into his gentle, loving embrace. One that they knew for sure would be the last that they would ever share.

"I shouldn't have put you up to this.." Turbo said softly as the tears easily rolled down his cheeks and into her long, curly red hair, "I'm sorry.." _You were going to be the best thing to come into my life.._He placed his forehead on her shoulder. _Why can I still not say it?_

Roxie chuckled despondently as she weakly placed her right arm around his back and said, "I put myself up to this, alright? I thought I was supposed to be good at this kind of thing.." _But I guess I'm not.._ "It's not your fault."

Turbo opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think clearly enough to form the words. _Roxie.._ He shook his head somberly as he softly ran his fingers past her left cheek and through her hair to the back of her head. _I can't lose you. I can't go back to how things were before.._

"I wish you could have been like this from the start," Roxie said with a weak smile as she rested the side of her head against his and swallowed hard, "I think you should take my gun after all.." _I won't be needing it where I'm going._

"N-no.." Turbo said softly, "We can make it back to your game. You'll regenerate.." _I know what I'm saying is impossible, but.. _

Roxie grabbed Turbo's left shoulder and gently pushed him back to lovingly look him in the eye. She shook her head softly, still holding onto her weak smile. _You know I'll never make it._ He looked down at her bloody stomach and winced as she pulled her pistol back out of her jacket and said, "Love ya.." _If only __we had more time.. _She handed the gun to him gently, grip first. _Don't join me so soon, okay?_

Turbo swallowed hard as his gaze turned up from the pistol in his hand and back to her eyes.. He breathed a despondent breath as he once again struggled to find meaningful words to say. The only ones that came to mind were the two he just heard. "Love ya.." _I shoul__d have told her __so much __sooner.._

As if Turbo had said the magic words, Roxie put her hand to his cheek and let out a slow, tired breath and closed her eyes. _Sorry, Turbo.. Maybe Jet can- _She disintegrated into soft blue binary.

Set blinked a few times, coming out of his confused daze as Sorceress hugged him from the side somberly. _What the hell is __this__? __**She's**__ gone, Felix is gone, Sonny is gone.._ He clutched at his chest. _This isn't right. I think I might actually be sick..  
_

Turbo stood up slowly while staring at the gun in his hand. _I have half a mind to join her, but that's not what she wanted me to do with this.._ He hardened his heart as best he could. "We're wasting time!" he said bitterly as he left the elevator, "I am not about to make her death meaningless." He eyed the soldier coldly. _You.. I __also __have half a mind to get this game unplugged for what you just did._ He bared his yellow teeth briefly. "What do we need to know from him, Jet?" He angrily turned his glowing yellow eyes towards Jet.

Jet heaved a shaky breath as he was snapped out of his focus at the end of the hallway and said, "N-nothing.." _Damn it all.. I knew I couldn't do this.._

"So what **now**?" Ralph asked Jet angrily as he tightened his grip further, pushing the soldier's body to its limits.

The soldier groaned and writhed between the wall and Ralph's palm, trying to find some semblance of relief. "Why do you have to make history repeat itself?" he asked through a pained breath.

"It **wouldn't** have!" Jet said frustratedly with fresh tears welling in his eyes, "**Who** came from the future? He doesn't know both sides."

The soldier breathed heavily through his nose, keeping his mouth shut tight. _Like I'd tell you that._

"I can still **fix** this.." Jet said in an earnest, yet still frustrated tone, "**Who is it**?"

The soldier swallowed hard as he considered Jet's words. _Something doesn't add up to what we were __shown in that weird room__. __Maybe__.._ "Harry.." he said finally, "He left with the surge protector a while ago.. He had us play dumb so that he would leave. He doesn't even belong in our game originally." _But when we saw the __'__proof__'__.. __But maybe __**his**__ 'proof' is different somehow?_

Bobby stared at the ground with his arms crossed as he left the elevator. _Harry.._

"Ralph, you should let him go," Sorceress said softly as she tentatively put her hand on his shoulder, "I know it's hard, but.." _I don't know what to say __at a time like this.._

"There's no **way** I'm letting him go," Ralph said through clenched teeth as he closed his hand around the back of the soldier. _He's coming with us. __What the heck am I going to tell Gene and the others?_

"Where are the rest of your friends?" Turbo asked bitterly as he tightly gripped the gun in his hand and eyed it intently. _I've never used one of these things before, but there's always a __**first**__ time._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well I practically put myself through torture by writing that. I hope you enjoyed it! I don't say this often, but I'd **love** to hear your opinion on how this chapter in particular went. Of course I'd love to get feedback on all my chapters, but you can probably agree that this one stands out ;).


	23. Rekindling Hope

**Author's Note:** I **highly** recommend you read the previous chapter if you haven't already ;).

* * *

The soldier solemnly stared at Turbo, still unable to even move as he was still trapped within the grip of Ralph's large hand.. _This is so different from what we were shown.. How does this guy get RoadBlasters unplugged when he was in love with the lead character? And then **I **__killed__ her. What the hell are we getting at here? __**I'm**__ the one who gets RoadBlasters unplugged. And Fix-It Felix Jr. too.._

"I **asked** you a question," Turbo said coldly as he tapped the side of his helmet with the barrel of Roxie's pistol, "I'm not going to kill you, but if you don't cooperate you **might** get hurt again." _'Turbo don't be so heartless, can't you see the look in his eyes?' ..She would probably say something like that. __It wouldn't surprise me__.._ He swallowed hard and began to pace. _Why did she have to die? We were finally coming to understand one another.._ He heaved a shaky breath just as the soldier opened his mouth to speak.

"There are others stationed at the end of this hall after taking a left, leading to that weird room with the game's codes," the soldier said solemnly, "I.. I'm sorry, it came to this. I was just following orders."

Turbo's eyes flashed an ominous glow just briefly as he rapidly turned to face the soldier and slowly walked a few feet closer. _**One**__. __**Two**__. __**Three**__.._ He clenched his teeth and took another deep, shaky breath then said, "I'll **bet** you were. And now **Roxie**, Felix, and Sonny paid the price for it. As well as their **games**."

"Yeah, do you even have **any** idea how idiotic that was?!" Set asked angrily, "You open fire on us as soon as the damn elevator door opens?! You **know** we're not part of this game. You **know** we won't regenerate when we die." _I've never seen Turbo like this. __Hell, __I've never seen __**myself **__like this.._

"Damn it.." Jet said to himself as he draped his rifle's strap over his shoulder and began to pace, "But maybe.. Maybe it's not to late, I don't know." _It doesn't seem impossible, but I shouldn't be getting their hopes up like this.._

"What do you mean?" Sorceress asked softly, "Maybe what isn't too late?"

Bobby lifted his towards Jet. _I can't just mope right now, I should pay attention. Sonny wouldn't appreciate me being useless here.. I promised to help however I can.  
_

Jet sighed and wiped his eyes. "I don't know if it's possible or not, okay?" he said softly as he leaned against the reinforced concrete wall of the hallway they all currently occupied, "But maybe, just **maybe**, if we can get into the code room I can do something to bring them back.." _We were able to make ourselves part of the games when we 'went Turbo'. So Roxie, Felix, and Sonny's files might be here, just 'inactive'.._

"**Really**?" Ralph asked in a skeptical, yet hopeful tone. _Is that possible?_

"Of course it's only a possibility, and that would involve actually **getting** there," Jet said pointedly, "Which means **not** dying on the way." He sighed. _This is the only chance this timeline has._ He made earnest eye contact with the soldier. "Can you convince your friends?" _We __**need**__ his cooperation._

The soldier opened his mouth to speak and sighed a pained sigh. "I can try.." he said softly, "Can.. Can you put me down?" _If it means undoing what I've done.._

Ralph clenched his teeth. _Felix would probably tell me to. __I think it's not the smartest idea, but__.._ He reluctantly put the soldier down, a few more tears stained his cheeks which he promptly wiped away with the back of his large hand. _As long we're on guard around him.._ He glared and crossed his arms. _Are you going to say anything?_

_Oww.._ The soldier slumped against the wall upright, grimacing in pain as his whole body ached. He took several deep, pained breaths and humbly said, "Thank you.." _Though I don't really deserve it.._

Turbo clenched his teeth and formed a fist with his free hand. _One. Two. __**Three**__.. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. __**Ten**__.. Eleven._ "Lead on. I want **you** in front in case they decide to start shooting the moment they see something move." _Roxie, you might be able to come back.. Konami, __**please**__ let her come back.._

Set sighed and shook his head. _I can't imagine what I'd feel like if __**Sorceress**__ died. I mean, sure we're just getting started, but __th__at would probably tear me apart, right? __I'd like to see the others again too. Roxie wasn't bad. The others weren't either.. __I wasn't like this at all until now, what the hell is happening to me?_

Sorceress softly placed a hand on Set's back as the others began to move forward down the long hallway. She pulled him into a hug and said, "Come on, it'll be fine, right? We just have to hope.." _I'll keep you safe.._

Though surprised, Set eased into her arms and hugged her tightly in return. _She's warm.. __Er, s__he__ must be feeling pretty rotten too __right now__. I wonder if she's worried I'll die next.. _"Yeah, everything will be fine once we get to the code room," he said softly with a weak smile before clearing his throat, "C'mon. We don't want to fall behind.." She nodded as he gently peeled himself away and led her by the hand as they followed the others at the back of the group. _I'd better not be reckless here. I can't afford that.. __**We**__ can't afford that._

Sorceress tightened her hold on his hand just barely. _You do care.._

"We didn't really expect you to come straight down to the bottom floor, to be honest," the soldier said softly, "I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise though."

"Yeah, not really the best time for small talk," Turbo said coldly, "You can yak all day when and **if** our friends get revived." _I don't need to hear this crap. Only speak when you have something important to tell us._

"Point taken," the soldier said with a sigh as he stopped in his tracks, "So I'm guessing I should turn the corner by myself first?" _I wish they'd kill me __already __so I wouldn't ache so much.. Damn._

"What do you think, bromigo?" Bobby asked Jet sullenly, "What's the plan?" _I'm no good with that kind of thing._

_I'm terrible at planning guys, I hate to say.._ "They would think it's suspicious that he left his post regardless," Jet said pointedly, "Honestly I have no clue.."

"Turbo-tastic.." Turbo said sarcastically with a sigh. _Anyone else going would be suicide._ _These guys are trigger happy._

"I could help explain the situation," Sorceress said softly, "I can block their bullets, so.." _I just need to show I'm not a threat, and if they decide to shoot after anyway, I can set up a barrier before I get hit.._

Turbo almost opened his mouth to comment, but decided against it. _It would have been nice if you thought about that __**before**__.. But I can't really blame her for that. None of us saw that coming. Not even Jet. Which means we __**succeed**__, right? Doesn't it? Or is this just a failed timeline he eventually escapes from?_

"Are you **sure**?" Set asked worriedly, "**Really** sure?" _I'm supposed to be the reckless one here, don't you kno-.. No, I just need to trust her on this. She knows what she's doing._

"I'll be fine, 'Darling'," Sorceress said softly as she gave him a peck on the cheek, "It would help get the point across that we're not going to hurt them." _I'll be fine.._

The soldier glanced at her incredulously for the briefest of moments. _**I'm**__ hurt.. It was my fault, but still. Yeah, I'm **hurt**.._

Jet sighed and nodded towards her reluctantly then said, "That might work.." _I __**hope**__ it'll work.. She's the one most likely to survive even if they do start shooting._

"Come on," Sorceress said softly as she floated just behind the soldier, "Just act natural." They continued on and just barely turned the corner before bullets went flying. The soldier died instantly for the second time, and a bullet went through Sorceress' right shoulder. She turned back around the corner as quickly as she could, her brow furrowed in annoyance. _Well that didn't go so well._ She winced audibly and looked at her shoulder. _I'm lucky I have a high tolerance for pain.. If I had known they would shoot without worrying about who they target I'd have put the barrier up **before** going around the corner.  
_

"Trigger happy pieces of-!" Set yelled angrily before he was stopped by Sorceress who was shaking her head as she got in front of him with her hands extended. He sighed after his anger subsided a little. "Are you okay? Is it that bad?" _She's bleeding __a good bit, but is it life threatening?_

"Guys don't shoot, for crying out loud," the soldier said pleadingly as soon as he regenerated again. _I don't hurt anymore at least._ "They're not here to cause trouble. They want to talk!" _You nearly killed their liaison._ He went talk to his equally trigger happy friends to explain the situation a ways down the hall.

"I'm fine," Sorceress said softly, "It's not going to heal instantly though.." She looked away sheepishly. _As if I could ask him for that._

"Are you sure?" Set asked softly as he inspected her shoulder, "Why did you turn away?" _Is she lying?_ _Maybe it's worse than it looks..  
_

"It's nothing," Sorceress said sheepishly, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine after a while." _I can't just say I'd heal if I bit you. That's awkward._

"You're making this more difficult than it has to be, you know?" Set said chidingly. _It went through to the other side even.._

"I can't ask you for that," Sorceress said plainly, her brow still furrowed.

"You can ask me **anything**," Set said as he rolled his eyes, "What is it? You want to bite me? How much do you need?" _That's the only thing you would __be afraid to__ ask for in this situation, right?_

"I can't," Sorceress said earnestly as she looked him in the eye.

"I'm telling you, **bite** me," Set said pointedly. _Hell, I'll probably enjoy it even. Even though now isn't really the best time for that._

"Just **bite** him already," Turbo said bitterly as he rolled his eyes and sighed. _I'd rather Set be hurt than her, even though we got off on the wrong foot._

"I'm not going to turn into a vampire, right?" Set asked wryly, although he was being serious. _Don't worry about me so much._

"You'll be fine," Sorceress said with a sigh, "It's just not pleasant, okay?"

Set nodded just before Sorceress slowly leaned into his neck and gently bit into it. He giggled due to the odd sensation which was a mix of both pain and pleasure and softly placed his hand on the back of her head. _Take as much as you need.._

It was only a brief moment before she lifted her head and sheepishly turned away to wipe away the few droplets of blood on her mouth. _You didn't have to laugh.._ The wound on her shoulder healed completely after a moment, as did the bite marks on Set's neck.

"See?" Set scoffed, as he shook off the slight feeling of lightheadedness he felt, "I'm fine." _A little bit dizzy, but otherwise I feel fantastic._

"It's embarrassing.." Sorceress mumbled, "And now isn't the time." _We still don't even know for sure if our friends can be brought back to life.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So yeah, I may have a bit of a thing for vampires..

'D Mysterious' has "Totally called it!" rights, by the way.

I wrote a oneshot, if anyone is interested. It's titled 'Outlet City Tartarga'.


	24. Paper Thin Peace

"Guys, do **not** shoot them," the soldier said in an almost demanding tone as he walked up to to his trigger happy friends at the end of the hall, "**Everything** is different from what Harry showed us of the future he came from." _I should have __**known**__ it wasn't right from the start.. If Turbo gets RoadBlasters unplugged, he wouldn't be coming here with __**her**__. And for damn sure Fix-It Felix Jr. wouldn't be here if they intended to get our game unplugged. I __was __an idiot __to not think about this before__._

"We **can't** afford mistakes, Diez," soldier (1) said pointedly, "You'd **better** explain to the last detail."

"Alright, well **first** of all let's start with the highest priority Harry told us kill if they came here," Diez said pointedly, "It makes sense to kill the person who can heal them before they die, yes. But Fix-It Felix Jr. is about the most affable guy in the entire arcade. Do you really think that **he** would come here if they're here to get our game unplugged? He put his own game at risk to be here, and he's dead now. If anything we really are the bad guys here."

"They could have tricked him," soldier (2) said pointedly, "I wouldn't put anything past them. You **saw** what Set did to our game."

Diez sighed and scratched his head. "Okay, well what about Roxie?" he asked pointedly, "Roxie was the Good Girl of RoadBlasters, who Turbo was in **love** with until she **died** because **I** shot her.."

"How do you know he was in love with her?" soldier (1) asked as he crossed his arms, "He was probably just using her for his dirty work." _Although.. No, that doesn't really make sense. Turbo didn't take over this game, he simply got RoadBlasters and Turbo Time unplugged.. It was Jet and Set who messed with our game. _He scratched his head.

"Do you think I'm too stupid to recognize a couple in love?" Diez asked bitterly, "We may be Bad Guys, but we're no strangers to love." _As unrequited as it may be.. _"And Set isn't acting all crazy either, I think the girl one of you shot at just now was **his** girlfriend.." _I'm not positive on that last one though.._

"And what the hell are you suggesting we do?" soldier (3) asked. _**Set**__ has a girlfriend? That can't be right.._

"Yeah, what?" soldier (4) asked, "You don't expect us to just let them into the **code room**, do you?" _Why else would they come to this floor? That's __**all**__ that's down here.._

"Uh, **yeah**," Diez said pointedly, "The only possibility of their friends **not** staying dead and their games **not** getting unplugged is in **that** room. I don't see the problem, especially if we're all in there too keeping an eye on them.. Look, the only way we're going to shake off the label of Bad Guy is if we don't **act** like bad guys, you know?"

"I don't like this," soldier (1) said as he began to pace, "Is this **really** the only way?" _**If**__ what Diez says is true, then we all win.. But on the __**other**__ hand, what Harry showed us was pretty __damn __concrete.. __But it's wrong somehow.._

"It is if we don't want to be the reason those three stay dead and their games get unplugged," Diez said pointedly as he crossed his arms.

"Damn it," soldier (1) muttered under his breath, "Alright fine. But if they make **any** funny moves.."_ I hope he's right about this.._

"I'm sure they won't," Diez said as he shook his head, then slowly made his way back down the hall and around the corner to the others.

"Do do we have their approval?" Jet asked hopefully. _If we don't then things are going to get messy, because we have to get in there regardless of if they give us permission or not._

Diez nodded tentatively and said, "They're pretty reluctant about it, but they agreed to let you do what you need to do. But.. Any funny moves and they're likely to panic and shoot you so just.."

Set sighed and said, "Well of **course**. I think we've all seen how trigger happy you guys get." _It wouldn't shock me if these guys shoot at us __**anyway**__ as soon as we get around the corner._

"Let's go, bromigos," Bobby said seriously. _I got us covered.._

They slowly made their way down the hall and cautiously made a left turn, following Bobby who was insistent on leading the way.

Jet scratched his neck as he recognized the soldiers came into sight. _Simons, Freeman, __Renko, Martin.. No idea why they never decided on first names.._

"Lady, gentlemen," Renko said dryly, his arms still crossed from his previous conversation with Diez, "I'm sure he's probably told you.."

"Yes, yes, no funny moves," Turbo said coldly, "Listen, I just want my girlfriend back."_ If I have Roxie back, then I'll consider simply forgetting this place even exists._

"I just want my best friend back," Ralph said coldly. He had his arms folded tightly, still trying to contain himself. He was doing a far better job than he ever thought he could, considering the situation. _I don't care what happens to my fists as long as Felix can come back._

"I just want my bromigo back," Bobby said solemnly. _He was all I really ever had until now.._

"Understandable," Renko said dryly with a nod, "Follow us.." _So far what Diez said checks out.. How could Harry have been so wrong? He knew they were coming, but his advice doesn't make sense._

They all took a right down yet another reinforced-concrete hallway before taking another right halfway down. It was by no surprise, another hallway, however this one had the familiar tubes pulsating with light blue code.

"Do you know the code for it?" Ralph asked hopefully, yet still fighting back his wrecking tendencies. _I'd rather not have to go through another door-wrecking experience, as frustrated as I am right now._

"Yes, although we'd appreciate it if you **didn't**," Renko said dryly, "I'm sure you must understand."

"We get it, we can't be trusted," Turbo said while rolling his eyes, "I'd **really** rather have my girlfriend back **now**, so can we get on with this?" _Jet, I hope you know enough about these files to bring them back. I'd rather not owe __**them**__ anything. It's bad enough that they're repaying their debt by cooperating willingly._

Renko sighed and clenched his fists before uncrossing his arms. He shook his head and motioned for the others to turn around as he quickly entered their 10 digit code before pressing Start. _I suppose we do deserve this kind of hostility._ "Come on in.." _At worst, if something went wrong, Harry could've come back and fixed it.._

"So why didn't we see the surge protector or this Harry guy on our way in here?" Sorceress asked confusedly as they all made their way into the code room. _This place is.. I never would have expected a place like this being in every game. I've seen a door like that in my game as well.._

"That's a good point," Bobby said seriously, "We were all watching the gateway pretty close and nobody came out before we went in."

"All I know is that they took the elevator up a while before you guys came in," Renko said dryly with a shrug, "For all I know they toured the facility."

Turbo sighed as they made their way around, looking for their the files of their three fallen friends. _One, two, three.._ "So about this Harry guy," he said curiously, "I get that he must be from the future like Jet here, but what game **is** he from? He's not from this game as this guy told us before and we'd like to speak with him to make sure he doesn't pull crap like this on us again."

"Yeah, I don't know what he **thinks** is going to happen in the future," Set said pointedly, "But Jet is here to make sure that our futures **don't** suck, and we need to make sure that Harry won't interfere with that." _I need to eat something soon, this room isn't exactly doing any favors for my dizziness._

"He's from Asteroids, isn't he.." Bobby said half-knowingly. _Harry and Larry, the two UFO's.. But then again Harry might be a common name._

"Yes," Simons said plainly, "According to the memories he showed us, he came to our game once it got unplugged." _It was strange that a UFO, from another game even, would come talk to us about the future, but.. Well he certainly knew what he was talking about, even enough to show us how to make him a human body.._

"My game gets unplugged?" Bobby asked solemnly. _First Sonny dies, and now I find out my game gets unplugged sometime in the future? I thought for sure they were just joking about the future thing at first.._

"He can probably tell you how it happens," Simons said with a nod, "Since you're apparently from the same game.." _He the ship or something? I guess it's not too farfetched._

"Well at least now we know where we can find him," Jet said with a sigh as he glanced around looking for their codes. _Why do these files have to be so spread apart?_

"Look, there she is!" Turbo said ecstatically with a laugh as he made his way to Roxie's file with a grin on his face. He swallowed hard as his heart began to race, more so than it had all day with the exception of when she was dying in his arms. _What do we do from here? She's right here in this box, but how do we bring her back? Can we? There has to be a way.. _He lovingly caressed the file with both hands as the others made their way to Roxie's file.

Ralph clenched his fists before crossing his arms again. _I was hoping we would bring __**Felix**__ back first, since __**he **__died first, but.. _He shook his head._ I can't blame him.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So what are your guesses about Harry, and now Larry? I'm curious.


	25. Coming Alive

"As a warning, I'm not too sure how to do this," Jet said nervously as he opened Roxie's file. He could feel his heart lurch. "I don't know if they can even be brought back." _No, there's got to be a way, otherwise her file wouldn't still be here, right?_

Aside from her avatar's appearance, there wasn't very much inside Roxie's file. Just files for her gum, gun, and knife as well as a few root beers she had hours earlier were contained inside.

"Well if it would be **any** of these files, I think it's obvious which one it would be, right?" Turbo asked incredulously as he tapped on the file for her avatar's appearance. He frowned when all that did was make a small holographic image of her pop up in front of them. _Well so much for that. Damn it, there has to be something.._ He sighed frustratedly and side before crossing his arms. "Alright, I'll just leave it to you then." _I'll just sit back and be useless._

Jet glanced at Turbo apologetically before closing the small holographic image of Roxie. _This isn't working out so well. Maybe there's some other kind of option._ He scratched his head and closed out of her main file before selecting it again, this time using his right hand. A small holographic list popped up. On that list were most notably Delete, 'Merge with..', Properties, Rename, and Security. _Properties__ sounds about the closest to what we're looking for. I know exactly what 'Merge with..' is for and it's a very bad thing, so is Delete.. Konami.. What if they decide to delete us when we're on our way out?_ He swallowed hard and selected Properties, prompting a small holographic box to pop up in front of them. _I should probably check out Security as well._

"You seem to know a lot for someone who isn't so sure how to do this," Renko said dryly. You know more than I do by the looks of it.

"I assure you I'm just guessing," Jet said seriously as he looked through the various tabs within Roxie's 'Properties'. Creation date, last modified date, file size, etc. All sorts of information was displayed, all of which was useless for the reason they were there until something caught his eye. _'Disabled'?_ He selected what he recognized as a drop-down menu and selected 'Enable' before selecting 'Save Changes'.

"Do you think?.." Turbo asked hopefully before his mind was overtaken by various possibilities. _Is she alive? That's what 'Enable' would have done, __**right**__? Would- Is she back where she died?_ "I'm going back to where she died! Come get me if she pops up in here!" He swam back out of the code room in the most determined and efficient fashion he could muster. Had this been a race, he surely would have won. He completely ignored Freeman who decided to 'escort' him to make sure nothing funny was going on.

Jet sighed and nodded before moving on to 'Security' which as he had hoped, was a way to add a password to a file so that certain people would be unable to access its contents.

* * *

Roxie gasped as her code came alive. She was already on her feet. Without much thought she worriedly clutched at her stomach, relieved to find that there was no blood or pain. _I'm alive.._ She laughed incredulously then found that she was still inside the elevator, which was currently on the surface level. _Damn, what was that code Jet entered again? I don't even know if Turbo is still here. How am I alive? Should I go back down or just leave?_

Her mind was made up for her as the elevator began to descend again. _Okay, well let's just see where this takes me then, I guess._ She paced around the elevator with her arms crossed as it went down level after level. _Five, Six, Seven.._ She sighed anxiously. _I hope Turbo is alright. What should I say when I see him again?_

Felix gasped and clutched at his chest as he blinked into existence and yelled, "I'm.. I'm alive!" He laughed incredulously. "I thought I was a goner.." _Jeepers, that was terrifying.._ "Where is everyone?"

"Hopefully still where **we're** headed," Roxie said with an anxious sigh. _Here it is, __lucky number thirteen__.._

* * *

"What the hell is taking this elevator so long?" Turbo muttered under his breath with his arms crossed just as the elevator dinged, reaching the bottom floor. The doors couldn't open fast enough, as soon as Turbo saw exactly what he had hoped to see. There she was, jeans and all. He breathed out a shaky excited breath as Felix hopped out of the elevator and out of the way.

"You guys go somewhere else for a while," Roxie said insistently as she waved the handyman and soldier off then pulled Turbo into the elevator. She picked him up for a hug and pressed a button to close the doors. _Better._

"You really came back," Turbo said with a laugh. Tears welled in his eyes as he nuzzled his forehead into her shoulder and hair, "You have no idea.." He sighed. _I owe Jet a huge debt.._

"I think I might have **some** idea," Roxie said with a laugh as she pulled off his helmet and dropped it on the floor, "Sorry, the helmet just isn't doing it for me." She kissed him on the lips, little more than a peck. _You got me crying just a little bit too. Did you miss me that much?_

"C'mon, there's nothing wrong with my helmet," Turbo said wryly as Roxie put him back on the floor and wiped her eyes. _Is it cracked? _He eyed it carefully for any sign of damage.

"Well I don't mean it like **that**. I get that you're a racer and that's your uniform," Roxie said wryly as she crossed her arms, "But is it so bad to dress down once the arcade closes? I think it would make you look more hmm.. distinguished, yeah.." _I guess I'm lucky that I'm already dressed down to begin with._

"Hardly anybody does that, Roxie," Turbo scoffed playfully, "And besides, there aren't exactly a whole lot of haberdasheries or clothing shops around." _There's nothing wrong with walking around in my racing outfit, is there?_ "Anyways that's not the important thing. You're **alive**!" He began to pace. "I was so **worried** I would never see you again." _I nearly killed myself. And then I considered getting this game unplugged.. Something's wrong with __**that**__ train of thought._

"So how **did** things go? How was I brought back?" Roxie asked as she sat on the floor and leaned against the elevator wall.

Turbo chuckled warmly and sat beside her as Roxie's arm went over his head and to his opposite shoulder as he expected would happen. _Yep, I knew it._ He leaned into her side proudly. "Well, Jet convinced that soldier guy to help us out and he went talk to his buddies. Sorceress was going to join him in doing that but got shot in the shoulder so she came back."

"Is she okay?" Roxie asked worriedly, "She didn't die too, did she? Well, I guess she'd be brought back too though." _Plus it's just her shoulder. It doesn't sound life threatening._

"Yeah, she was fine after drinking some of Set's blood," Turbo said with a laugh, "He enjoyed it too, the bastard." _He __**would**__ fall for a vampire._

_She's a vampire, I guess._ "You're not going to start crap with him again are you?" Roxie asked wryly as she gently shook him and placed her hand on his chest. _I sure hope not, he's doing so well right now._

"Nah, not unless he starts it," Turbo said with a laugh, "But I'm getting off track.. So **that** happened and then they reluctantly let us into the code room and Jet fumbled around and somehow managed to reactivate your code since a copy of your file is in here." _Which worries me.. I don't think we should ever come back here. _"It wasn't a very long span of time, now that I really think about it.." _Just a few minutes or so, right?_

"Yeah," Roxie said in an understanding tone, "I suppose death can alter your perception of time a bit.." _So they let them use the code room.. I suppose I'll have to thank Jet later._

"I love you.." Turbo said sincerely as he absentmindedly zipped and unzipped one of his red-lined pockets. _I know I said it when she was dying, but.._

"You should be looking at me when you say that," Roxie said wryly as she trailed off into a brief laugh. _But that's still sweet.._

"Sorry," Turbo said with a nervous laugh as he turned his head to look her in the eye, "It's not something I say often. I love you." _There, better now?_

Roxie chuckled warmly as she pull him into another hug and said, "I love you too, short stuff.. I don't suppose you had to fire my gun while I was gone?" _Come to think of it, I think that's it in my pocket.._

"Nah, it's in my pocket right now," Turbo said wryly, "Still fully loaded. Want it back?" _Like I really have a use for a gun right now._

"Oh, is **that** what that is?" Roxie asked wryly, "Actually I think I have one in my jacket too.." _Did it copy another one when I was revived? _She reached into her jacket and pulled her gun out. "Well you can keep the one I gave you, I guess.."_ Maybe it'll come in handy._

* * *

"Felix!" Ralph said excitedly before clearing his throat, "It's good to see you alive and well.." _Thank Konami he's alive, that must mean Roxie is too, and now Sonny.._ He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as Felix and Freeman swam towards them. They were all clustered around Sonny's file after just having finished up his revival.

"It's good to be back, brother," Felix said with a goofy grin, "So what did I miss?" _I can't believe they had killed three of us. They don't even seem like such bad guys now if Freeman is any indicator.._

"Going see Sonny, don't mind me bros," Bobby said excitedly as he glitched into his ship form to get to the exit of the code room faster.

"Just leave 'em be," Renko said as he held a hand up, "They won't cause any trouble." He scratched his head. _Well this is awkward. _"So what in the hell have you been doing that everything is so different anyways?" _I suppose being from the future, he's changed from when Harry knew him.._

"Everything I could," Jet said with a sigh, "Harry really did more harm than good when he told you about all this, considering I had it under control more or less. I didn't have any intention of ever even coming in here to be honest, whether our game got unplugged or not."

"And him?" Simons asked as he pointed to Set with his thumb. _He destroyed all the obstacles in the game among other things.._

"I find that a bit insulting," Set scoffed as he cocked a brow and crossed his arms, "Why would I care about coming to this game?" _I get the feeling that these guys think I'm some kind of criminal. Of course I'm used to that to some extent.._

The soldiers shared a few confused stares before looking to Jet.

"Like I said, I have it under control unless Harry makes things difficult again," Jet said pointedly. _I'd __**really**__ rather not have to explain it.._

"So are we done here?" Felix asked curiously, "No offense intended.." _I'd like to go home and forget about this place.._

"None taken," Renko said, "Jet here just wants to make sure we won't delete you guys on your way out. Can't say I blame him." He chuckled knowingly. _Not like we'd have done that.. Or at least I wouldn't have._

"Who else is left?" Felix asked. _It's a good precaution to take considering three of us died to get here.._

"Well we did Sorceress', Bobby's, Ralph's, and Set's," Jet said with with a sigh. _In that order._ "So the last ones are mine and Turbo's. And you can see pretty easily where Turbo's is." He gestured to the massive file out in the distance that still clearly read, 'Turbo'. _Why does his file have to be so much bigger? It sticks out like a sore thumb._

"Yeah, he's a show off.." Set scoffed. _That file size is going to get him in trouble one of these days, I just know it._

* * *

"Bromigo! Sonny!" Bobby said excitedly as he met him out in the hallway, back in his human form, "Dude it's good to have you back in the world of the living." _That's beyond a relief._

"Yeah, it's good to **be** back," Sonny said with a chuckle, "So I take it everything worked out okay? What happened?" _I never even saw it coming. Had I known that soldier was going to shoot again I'd have turned him or something. Hindsight is 20/20.._

"Well, after you died, Roxie died," Bobby said seriously, "She and Felix are okay now, by the way. Like, perfect condition. Anyways, Sorceress got shot in the shoulder, she's fine now, uh.." _What else?_

"It's okay, take your time," Sonny said with a laugh, "So who brought us back?" _I take it they worked it out with the soldiers somehow._

"Ah, that was Jet's doing," Bobby said with a goofy grin, "It didn't take him long to figure it out, actually."

"Somehow I'm not too surprised," Sonny said with a nod, "Are they still in the code room? Is that where you just came from?"

"Ah, yeah," Bobby said, "Well Turbo and Roxie are probably waiting in the elevator right now. They didn't go back to the code room yet." _They're probably just spending time alone with each other. In an elevator. Where nobody can see them._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Bobby, would you kindly get your mind out of the gutter right quick ;)? Renko's name is a reference to the game Singularity it's a first-person shooter. It deals with time travel as well so in a way I wish I had given it to Harry instead. Oh well, it's just a passing reference anyways.


	26. Going Home

"Pfft. It's about time we got out of that place," Turbo said as he rotated his right arm at its shoulder. They had just **finally** left Battlezone. _And I hope to never go back._

"**There** you are," William said tiredly while rolling his eyes as the circle of nine left Battlezone's gateway, "I told you I had it under control. The guy didn't even argue. He even showed me around the place. Real nice guy. I'm sure he won't cause anymore trouble now that I've explained the situation from your side to him."

Turbo briefly opened his mouth to speak but simply licked his teeth and shook his head instead. _Not worth it. __**Not**__ worth it!  
_

"Well it's a good thing the **other** guys weren't involved in this," Jet said sarcastically as he crossed his arms, which William chose to not pick up on. _Who knows what they might have done had we not gone in and showed those Bad Guys we're not bad guys?_

"I'm gonna have to ask you three some questions later," William said tiredly, "But for now you're free to go. I imagine by the looks of things you're exhausted." Without another word he disappeared into the circuitry of Game Central Station, possibly going bother somebody else just leaving a game and minding their own business.

"Much appreciated," Set said with a delirious giggle as he placed pressure on his forehead with his palm, "I'm still feeling a little dizzy." _I'd like to eat something if I may._

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sorceress asked worriedly as she placed one of her hands on his back, "You look like you might pass out." _I shouldn't have bitten him in the first place. I would have been fine eventually..  
_

"I think I might," Set said with another giggle, "I wouldn't argue if you offered to escort me home."

"Not today," Sorceress said as she sheepishly looked away, "I'd better head home myself. My butler is probably about ready to plan a search party.." _I'm serious.._

"Aww," Set said disappointedly, "I'll come get you tomorrow." He giggled again as she waved floated off towards her game. _Jackpot._ "Okay I think I really will pass out if I stand here much longer.. Let's go, Jet." He quickly shook his head, which he immediately realized was a bad idea. "Ow."

Jet rolled his eyes and lent Set his shoulder and half-carried him home. _He's certainly bubbly.._

"Yeah, so we're just gonna go.." Sonny said plainly, "You know where to find me if there's trouble." He and Bobby waved and left. _That leaves more questions than we found answers.._

"Yeah, later guys," Ralph said dryly. _Should we explain this to Gene?_

"Call us if you need us," Felix said cheerfully with a tip of his hat before he and Ralph made their way home. _Should we explain this to Gene and the others?_

"So I guess we part ways for the night here," Turbo said with a bittersweet grin._ Damn I'm glad she's alive. Even if she __**did**__ drop my helmet on the floor. _He chuckled and subtly shook his head._ I'd like to drop her jeans to the floor __though__, so I guess that makes us even._

"It won't be that long," Roxie said wryly, "I just hope your game does okay.." _I almost forgot that I sort of cause his game to get unplugged. Even if it's not all my fault._

"Well you heard Jet. If what he says is right, it was kind of my fault," Turbo said with a sigh, "I don't like to admit it, but it probably was.." He scoffed. "I suppose if and when that happens though I could always just chill in your game or something, right?" _Turbo Time is safe though__. __It's safe. Totally safe. Definitely safe. Yep._

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Roxie scoffed with a smile playing on her lips, "I may be a racer of sorts, but I don't know about taking things **that **fast." _Nice try though. __He's being a bit blasé about it now, but I'm pretty sure he'd be at least __**somewhat**__ distraught if his game actually did get unplugged.._

"Well, no rush," Turbo said wryly. _Besides, Turbo Time will be fine for a while yet._ He sighed. _Damn my head itches. And it's getting a little awkward._ "Seriously though, I think it'll be fine."

"Well I hope so," Roxie said wryly.

"So about tomorrow. How does dinner at a five star restaurant sound?" Turbo asked wryly with a wink, "Since you've been to Tapper's, Turbo Time, and Battlezone.." He listed on his fingers, "I think a delicious meal would round things off nicely."

"Hmm, I think you've earned that right," Roxie said wryly with a chuckle. _Let's see how bad he wants to take me out to dinner though._ "But only if you dress appropriately for the occasion. No helmet, no jumpsuit."

Turbo shrugged and said, "Deal. That may take some doing though." _How the hell am I going to pull that off?_

"Alright, I'll be waiting," Roxie said in a satisfied tone as she bent down and kissed his cheek, "Later." _That damn helmet just keeps getting in the way._

"Later," Turbo scoffed as he watched her return to her game before doing the same. _Dress appropriately.. __Oh, that gives me an idea though. Sonny would be able to help a brother out. __At least if Hippie McGee is anything to go by._

* * *

Sorceress floated straight to her bedroom after reaching her castle, and finally allowed herself to loosen up a bit. She exhaustedly plopped down on her rather large canopy bed with red satin sheets and laid on her stomach. _I didn't think he'd actually __**enjoy**__ getting bitten. That's a first.._

"Is everything okay?" her cyclops butler Roger asked worriedly in his usual, dry monotone from the still open doorway of her bedroom. _She's troubled._

Sorceress rolled onto her back and extended her arms at her sides and said, "I'm fine Roger. It's just complicated.." _So much happened in so little time. I just need to sort it all out in my head.._

"Mistress, if I may.." Roger droned.

"Depends.." Sorceress said with a sigh, "I'm guessing it's about my visitor earlier?" _That has to be it._

"Yes.." Roger droned after hesitating for a moment. _How should I say this?_

"What do you think of him?" Sorceress asked curiously as she sat up somewhat cross-legged and supported herself with her arms just behind her back and to her sides.

"He's.. squirrelly," Roger droned as he ran his fingers through his messy black hair. _I hope that's the least offensive way to put it.._

Sorceress chuckled sheepishly and said, "I suppose so. Don't worry about it, Roger.. You can go." She waved him off as he nodded and closed the door behind him. _Squirrelly.. __That he is._ She laid back down and rolled onto her side. She sighed and grabbed one of her fluffy red pillows and hugged it tightly. _What am I even doing? __Was biting him the right thing to do? I know he liked it. I couldn't help but like it too. __B__ut that's just because I'm a vampire, __isn't it?_

She gently rubbed her shoulder where she had been shot earlier._ I don't know what to think.. I wonder what sort of plans __Set__ might have for tomorrow. Maybe I __**should**__ have brought him home. Would it have been a good idea to hug him? I kissed him, sort of. __On the cheek__.. I'v__e__ already __**bitten**__ him for crying out loud.. _She groaned as she tossed and turned and lightly bit her pillow before tossing it behind her next to her other pillows._ So this is it? Am I just not going to sleep? I guess turning the light out would help.._

She sighed and got out of bed solely to blow out a small lantern hanging near the door. Once that was done she laid back down and tried her best to sleep. _'I just really want to be with you,' he says.. _She giggled._ That's the first time anyone ever told me that.._

* * *

There was a note from Harry on Roxie's car which she simply crumpled up and threw in her glove compartment before driving home. _I don't give a crap about whatever he has to say._

Much like everything else important in Bubble City, her home and property was under a large protective dome. She didn't think herself to be much of a flowers person, but there were flowerbeds along the front of her home with generic-looking red and yellow flowers. She sighed and slid her jacket off upon entering her modestly large red-bricked home. She tossed her jacket onto her beige three-seated couch and took her shoes off, leaving them near the door. _Oh~ that's better.. Damn I'm hungry though. I didn't really think about it before, but since Turbo brought up dinner.. _"I hope I've at least got **something** to eat in this refrigerator. **Or** these cabinets.." she said with a sigh as she entered her fully furnished kitchen. She slapped her hands together as if to pray briefly before opening the refrigerator door. _What is this even supposed to be?_ She pulled out a brown mystery container and placed it back after lifting the lid briefly for a sniff test._ Not interested in whatever __**that**__ is.._

"I can at least make a sandwich.." Roxie grumbled. _At least I've got something.._

After eating she went take a quick shower to wash away the rest of the feeling of having been dead. She got dressed in a pair of solid grey silk pajamas. _Just like his skin._ She chuckled to herself. _I don't know why I made that connection. Does he seriously not have any other clothes though? Maybe I shouldn't have told him I'd only have dinner with him if he dressed down. But then again he seemed pretty confident he could pull it off with 'some doing'. It's not like he'd show up naked because I told him no helmet and no jumpsuit.. Plus I **did** say to dress appropriately. __I do wonder how 'big' he really is though.. He sure __seems to__ think highly of himself in that regard as well as everything else about himself..  
_

She went into her room and turned off the light before slipping into her dark blue bedsheets. "A five star restaurant.." she said with a smirk, "I suppose it'll be better than that sandwich I ate.. Whatever, first I just gotta set my alarm and then I can go to sleep." _I'll worry about the rest later. __I probably don't have to worry about dressing up since apparently most people don't change outfits after quitting time._

She sighed and rolled onto her side, placing a hand under her pillow. She was half-surprised to find another gun. She simply scoffed and slid it away some so that it was out of the way and closed her eyes._ I need to get to sleep. I won't get much sleep as it is because of all that crap we've been through today.. Sleep sleep sleep sleep._

She rolled her eyes, though her eyes were still shut and rolled onto her back._ "_I can't believe I had **actually** game overed today." she said incredulously._ Even more that I came back to life. Turbo really missed me that much in just a few minutes though.. I should probably be nicer to him. He seems to respond well to that. _

She shook her head mockingly and said in a doubly mocking tone, "I bet you think everything about me is scaled down." She scoffed._ Sleep, Roxie. You need to __**sleep**__ so that you can focus tomorrow. His size is irrelevant right now regardless._

* * *

Turbo eagerly slammed open the door to his miniature mansion of a home and slammed it equally hard behind him upon entering._ The place is a mess, no surprise. All the damn ground shaking. _He shook his head and stood up several trophies here and there on shelves. "It's almost like they got flung across the room though. That's odd," he mused to himself half-bitterly before returning to his chipper mood, "How about a little **music** before bed?"_ I know I've got that song **somewhere**.._

He looked through a neatly organized stack of cassette tapes. Since they were so neatly organized he found what he was looking for almost immediately. He grinned as he eagerly placed it into his stereo and fast forwarded to the song he practically wanted to sing all day. He kicked off his red and white racing boots and slid across his waxed wood floor. _Here it comes! _He shook slightly with excitement._  
_

"She tried to hide it by the faded **denim** clothes she wore," Turbo sang in tune while holding an imaginary microphone, "But I knew she'd never been inside a **bar** before.. I felt like a peasant who just had met a **queen**. And she knew I saw right through her **tight fittin' jeans**." _Damn, Conway your lyrics are dead on__!_

He sang the rest of the song, fumbling on a line here and there, but he didn't care. _I knew the important and most relevant part of the song and that's what counts._

He sighed contentedly. _I'm hungry._ The rest of the cassette played as he fixed a sandwich with three breads. _I wish I could have taken her to Food Fight __**today**__. BurgerTime would have likely been a let down for her. Who would bring a girl to BurgerTime for a date? Certainly not Turbo, the greatest racer ever!_

He made his way to the bathroom and took a shower then got dressed in his grey pajamas with red stripes. That was about the only other clothes he had, much to his dismay. _I'll have to talk to Sonny after all.._

He looked at himself in the mirror and smirked with a thumbs up then said, "Turbo-tastic!" _Come to think of it, I don't think she's even heard me say that yet. It's always a pain to explain.. Most importantly is that I **not** lose focus during open hours. Turbo Time will be** fine**! **I'll** be fine! The players will still love me once the new game smell has run its course. Not that Roxie's game is **bad** by any means, but it's not a racing game. It's not! It's a sort of weird fusion where there's only first place, or death!_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had fun writing this chapter. I hope you had run reading it ;).


	27. Sweet Dream

"Jet.. Hey Jet," Set said with a giddy laugh as the two made it inside their small, two bedroom, white paneled home. The inside walls were painted a pastel green color with the furniture being a slightly darker shade. He was still 'drunk' from being bitten due to the fact that less blood, and thus less oxygen, was getting to his brain. _This feels great, but I should really at least sit down._

"What?" Jet asked tiredly as he plopped Set down on the three seated couch of their living room before going into the conjoined kitchen for a wet rag.

"What's the future really like?" Set asked wryly, "You can tell me. I just wanna know. Did you have a girlfriend? How were we treated? Did **I** have a girlfriend?" _Did __**Turbo**__?_

"The future.." Jet said with a sigh as he wiped his face, "The future isn't so bad for most people. In fact it's great for just about everyone who didn't lose their games.." _Maybe not some of the Bad Guys, and I can't really speak for everyone. Crumbelina and likely some of the other racers for instance have pretty sad backstories.. __As for the other questions.._

"Well that's one question answered," Set said wryly.

"Yes, I had a girlfriend.." Jet said solemnly, "If it weren't for everything going on I would have probably moped around all day missing her.." He wiped his face again to stealthily wipe away any tears that he may have started to shed. _Crumbelina.. __I told you I'd come back, but you have no idea how hard it's going to be to fulfill that promise._

"That sucks, Jet.." Set said sincerely as he patted a seat next to him, "Come on, you wanna talk about it?" _Tell me all about it._

"I'm fine.." Jet said as he shook his head, but took a seat anyways. _How the hell did he change so much in just one day? Turbo too.. Did they __just __**really**__ need girlfriends? Did __**I**__?_

"How long do you have to wait for her?" Set asked as he focused intently in order to maintain his consciousness. _Felix and Ralph both have to wait like 25 years, but that's really only if they want the same ones.._

"25 and a half years," Jet said solemnly, "Just like Ralph." _Except __**he**__ doesn't even know her yet. __So it won't be nearly as hard for **him**._

"Why don't I just help you find a new one?" Set asked sincerely as he patted Jet on the shoulder, "Sorceress might have a sister for all we know." _Well, she __**really**__ probably doesn't.._

Jet shook his head and said, "No thanks.. I know you'll probably think it's kind of silly, but as little as time as I spent with her, that time is irreplaceable.." _I couldn't possibly describe it.._ "Would you just drop Sorceress if you had to wait 25 years to see her again even if afterwards you would spend the rest of your life with her?"

"I don't think you realize how long 25 years really is," Set said pointedly. _Sorceress is amazing, and I hit the jackpot, but I don't know if I would be able to handle waiting a quarter century.._

"You're saying that to someone who has lived **30** years," Jet said pointedly, "Besides you, she was the first person to accept everything about me, sins and all. Besides-"

"Woah woah, hang on," Set said confusedly, "Expand on that sins bit.."

Jet inwardly kicked himself. "Damn it.." he said frustratedly. _Me and my big mouth._ "We weren't exactly good people once our game got unplugged, okay? We caused a lot of trouble and you ended up killing yourself. That's all you need to know about it." _There's a __**reason**__ I've been keeping it from you._

Set opened his mouth as if to speak and jerked his head back in confusion.

"The guys from Battlezone had the same reaction to a comment you made before we left," Jet said seriously.

"So I **killed** myself.." Set said in shock, "Were things **that** bad for us originally? I don't see how we could cause **that** much trouble.." _Apparently we got a game unplugged, but maybe that would have happened anyway._

"It wasn't solely the fault of any of us," Jet said pointedly, "Just forget about it, alright? Everything will be fine. You and Turbo both have a pretty good thing going, don't you think? And Turbo shouldn't freak out because of not as many players coming to our game since he has Roxie to take his mind off of it.. Turbo Time won't get unplugged." _I'm going to make certain it stays that way.._

"That's still a hell of a lot to take in, Jet," Set said dejectedly, "I **kill** myself.. On **purpose**? What happened to send you back here anyway?"

"I'm still a little fuzzy on those details," Jet said somberly, "But I'm pretty sure that someone killed me for revenge.. Crumbelina and some good friends of mine were forced to watch.." _And I promised her I would come back no matter what.._

"Is that the name of your girlfriend?" Set asked curiously.

"Yeah.." Jet said solemnly, "She's from Sugar Rush 2, one of the racers.." He sighed and wiped his face again. "Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed. You should too." _I'll have to keep in mind not to race too fast tomorrow._ He went to his room and went to sleep.

Set laid his helmet on the seat beside him and cradled his head. "I freakin' killed myself in the future.." he said dejectedly. _I know I'm a risk taker, but to kill myself on __**purpose**__? Just what the hell kind of person was I in the future? I.. I'd better head to bed. Jet's right, I have a good thing going. I __should__n't mess this up._

* * *

Jet swallowed hard and hugged Crumbelina tightly as he found himself lying in her bed. _This isn't real, __is it? __It __**feels**__ real, but.._

"Hey.." Crumbelina said softly with a smile as she caressed Jet's cheek, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Jet shook his head as his eyes welled with tears and asked, "I'm just having a good dream right now, aren't I?" _It's okay.._

"Yeah," Crumbelina said as she blinked away a few tears of her own, "Sorry.."

"Don't be sorry," Jet said with a somber smile, "I want to remember you as much as possible. I'm doing all of this for you after all. I want to be someone you can be proud of.." _Someone you deserve.._

Crumbelina chuckled somberly and said, "Well I'm sure you're doing it at least **partially** for the other guys.."

"The biggest part is for you though," Jet said as he nuzzled his face into her shoulder, "I told you already didn't I? I'm **selfish**.." _I would go through __anything__ to be with you.._

"You're not as selfish as you think," Crumbelina said softly as she lovingly stroked the back of his head, "A truly selfish person would have reprogrammed Turbo and Set to make sure they behave as soon as possible and wouldn't be trying so hard to make sure that they find happiness. That's exactly the kind of thing that made me fall in love with you in the first are so much better than you give yourself credit for and it hurts to see you belittling yourself like this.. **Don't** say you're selfish, because if you're selfish then what does that make the rest of us?"

"Are you saying that because you really believe it?" Jet asked softly, "Or are you saying that because it's something I subconsciously want to hear from the real you?"

"You know I believe it, Jet," Crumbelina said lovingly, "That's the kind of person I am. It's true regardless."

Jet chuckled somberly into her neck and said, "I love you so much.. It's going to be so hard living without you for 25 and a half years.."

"I love you too, sweetie," Crumbelina beamed, "But you won't be **completely** without me, sort of.. I mean, I'm kind of here right now. That has to count for at least **something**.." She smiled tenderly and rubbed his back. "Come on, Jet. Don't cry.."

"I can't help it," Jet sobbed, "You're the first person besides Set who ever truly accepted me. I'm still shocked you even wanted to associate with me at all after I told you what I'd done.. What if I mess up when I meet you? What if you think I'm some kind of creep or something?" _I can't bear the thought of losing you, and on top of that having to wait 25 years for it __to happen__.._

"I wouldn't," Crumbelina said sweetly, "You know I wouldn't. Sure, I'd think it's a joke if you told me you're from the future, but that's about it.. Just don't say too much too soon or it would make things harder.."

"I'm the **king** of saying too much too soon.." Jet whimpered.

Crumbelina scoffed playfully and said, "Jet stop throwing yourself a pity party.."

Jet chuckled solemnly and said, "You said that just before we started going out.."

"And it is **every** bit as relevant now," Crumbelina beamed, "You're doing great, Jet. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course.." Jet said seriously, "But-"

"Nope!" Crumbelina said wryly, "No buts about it, shush.. But are you **sure** you want to wait 25 and a half years? For **me**?"

"I would wait as long as I had to," Jet said lovingly, "Besides.. After you told me about yourself, how could I **possibly** feel this way about anybody else?" _I could hardly believe that I made you so happy.._

"Your brother said it himself," Crumbelina said worriedly, "25 years is a long time.."

"We didn't get **that** many new games between now and then," Jet said as he played with the curls of her hair, "And none of the girls from those games could even compare to you in my eyes. I'll keep myself plenty occupied regardless." _I'll learn a few things to pass the time.._

"Are you going to be friends with the little me?" Crumbelina asked warmly, "And of course Taffyta, Rancis and Vanni- Vanellope."

"It might take a bit more patience to befriend Vanellope.." Jet said wryly, "But of **course** I'll make friends with them. I don't exactly think that I should tell any of them that I'll try to date you when your game comes along though.."

"There is no try about it," Crumbelina said firmly as she tapped his forehead, "But it's probably a good idea not to tell them that. I just hope she doesn't end up having a crush on you or something."

"Konami forbid," Jet said with a laugh, "But I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.. Then again I won't have my handsome skin until Sugar Rush 2 comes out so we don't really have to worry about that happening."

"I'd still love you if you were grey.." Crumbelina said softly as she pinched his cheek.

"I don't **like** being grey though," Jet said softly as he pinched her cheek in return, "Set and Turbo might not mind, but I do.. Besides, it's kind of hard to be part of Sugar Rush 2 when you look like some kind of alien or corpse.."

"Well I guess I can't lie," Crumbelina said with a frown, "You do look better in your other skin.."

"See?" Jet asked with a laugh. _You're not a good liar either._

"Uh huh," Crumbelina said with a sigh.

"This is the best dream I've ever had.." Jet said earnestly.

"Even better than that one dream where you saved the whole arcade from Cy-bugs single-handedly?" Crumbelina asked wryly.

"Way better," Jet beamed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I just really wanted to give Jet a break. And this is also to give you guys who haven't read 'The Honeyglow Surge' an idea of the kind of girl Crumbelina is.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	28. Harry,,

Turbo grumbled loudly as the arcade closed and all sign of Litwak's presence vanished. _'This game is way better than Turbo Time!' Stupid kids. That's just your opinion. Shut the hell up._

"You gonna be okay, Turbo?" Jet asked worriedly. _He at least still won when our game got played.._

"Jet, I'm fine!" Turbo said with a sigh as he ripped off his helmet and placed it in the seat of his car. He made certain to place his keys in his pocket. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going track down Sonny for a favor." He stormed off out the exit.

"So what do **you** have planned today?" Set asked as he too decided to go helmetless for the day. _I'm sure Sorceress will probably appreciate this._

"I was just gonna head to Tapper's for a while, maybe hang out with Ralph and Felix," Jet said with a shrug. _It wouldn't hurt to__ poke around in the code room some as well._

"I'd offer to join you, but.." Set said conflictedly.

"It's fine," Jet said with a laugh, "Go spend time with your girlfriend. Just don't get too excited or try to get her to bite you again." _Anything that would make her break up with you, in other words._

"Come on, would I do that?" Set asked while crossing his arms, "Well apparently I'm capable of **killing** myself so I guess I shouldn't ask.. Jet, I want you to be honest with me.. What did we do in the future? I won't repeat it to anyone, I promise.." _I need to know what to avoid.._

"It's a really bad idea to tell you.." Jet said seriously. _If I could be sure, I'd tell him, but.._

"Jet.." Set started with an exasperated sigh, "I have a **girlfriend**. We have **friends**, just like you wanted." _Might as well call them that.. _"Just tell me what the hell happened. I don't need you questioning my ability to be a good person. Look at you, aren't **you** a good person now?"

Jet breathed deeply through clenched teeth. _I don't know.._

"Just explain to me where things went wrong," Set said pleadingly.

"If you must know.." Jet said reluctantly before his eyes caught a glimpse of Turbo and William coming from the exit, "Oh yeah, he wanted to talk to us.."

Set screamed internally and grumbled, "This better be quick.." _I can't believe __Jet i__s blowing me off like this._

"Alright, fellas," William said tiredly, "Let's have our little chat. Anything to declare before I start?" _Make it quick if you do._

"Harry is only making things worse," Jet said pointedly as he crossed his arms. _If __William__ were going to do anything to us, I'd like to think he'd have done it already._

"I agree," William said with a nod, "He isn't able to mess around with files anymore though, I made sure of that. Although some damage has already been done in spreading that dangerous code around." _The Battlezone guys took a while to convince that it would be best if they didn't keep that knowledge._

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Jet asked worriedly. _He isn't going to erase our minds or something, is he?_

"You and you," William said pointedly as he pointed out Set and Turbo, "I've got my eyes on you.. As for you.." He pointed at Jet. "I'll have to have a word with you in private. You other two can go I guess. That's all I really wanted to say to you. Just don't go screwing things up."

"So are we just chopped liver or something?" Turbo asked bitterly. _Why even have me come back in here? I've got crap to do._

"Yeah!" Set said bitterly, "I think that we have just as much invested in avoiding whatever crappy future Jet came from. I apparently **killed** myself for crying out loud!" _I shouldn't __**ever**__ kill myself! What the hell caused it?!_

"**My** game and my **girlfriend**'s game gets unplugged!" Turbo added angrily, "What the hell are you playing at by withholding details?!" _How dare you keep us in the dark?!_

"It's your **fault**," William said pointedly, "The **less** you know, the less likely you are to **cause** it."

"That doesn't even make any **sense**!" Set yelled while gesturing with his hands, "If anything the **more** we know the less likely we are to do whatever it is that causes it because we can know what to **not** do!"

William narrowed his eyes at them. _That actually does make __some level of __sense.._ "Alright, fine. Come with us," he said with a sigh as they made their way to the code room, "Seeing is believing, after all."

* * *

"Harry, Larry," Bobby said plainly as he greeted them in their game just as the arcade closed. The three of them were all in their ship forms, though Larry didn't have a human form to begin with.

"Oh, look who actually decided to talk to us for a change," Harry said bitterly, "What do you want?" _Is it about yesterday?_

"Come on dudes," Bobby said pleadingly, "Aren't you the ones who always avoided **me**?" _You always blew me off for no reason.._

"He's right, Harry," Larry muttered to his brother.

"..Oh.." Harry said dryly, "Well nevermind that. What do you want?" _I have to figure out what to do next.._

"That's kind of harsh," Bobby said disappointedly, "Although I would like for you to not go messing up whatever it is Jet does. He's not a bad dude. I know it was you who had the Battlezone guys all riled up." _This is all a bit above me, __but I know that much__.._

"They deserved to know so that they could protect themselves," Harry said pointedly, "You can only say he's a good guy because you didn't live through it. After this game got unplugged, Battlezone was all Larry and I had and they** intentionally** got it unplugged." _He's never lost a home. I've lost __**two**__._

"Not that I would know," Larry said. _I have no recollection of ever being there._

"If they're as bad as you say, they'd have gotten it unplugged already, man.." Bobby said pointedly, "We were all in their code room when we brought three of our friends back to life after they were killed. RoadBlasters and Fix-It Felix Jr. almost got unplugged because of **you**." _Sonny may not have a big role in Paperboy, but I'd have been a real wreck if he hadn't been brought back.._

"For one thing, they didn't get Battlezone unplugged immediately in the future I come from either," Harry said angrily, "They lived as Jameson and Renko for **years** before rendering the game unplayable. None of us could even **leave** the game because of them! They forced us to **die** with the game. And secondly, I would have revived them after." _How he tricked you guys into helping is beyond me in the first place._

"It would have been too late. Their games would already be unplugged by then.." Bobby said in an annoyed tone, "Shouldn't you at least listen to Jet's side? All he has been going on about since I met him is how to make sure things like that doesn't happen."

Harry scoffed, "I can understand **you** being fooled, but I can't believe **William** is siding with them over me." _He even erased the code from my mind after putting me in his little holding cell.. He'll come to regret that._

"Was it perhaps because you put a **kill screen** on Turbo Time?" Sonny asked as he dared to interrupt while in his centipede form, "If anyone is a criminal, it's you."

"That had **something** to do with it, yes.." Harry said bitterly, "But I just wanted to get rid of them before they could ruin things for everybody else. I didn't count on **you** helping them." _Since when can __**he**__ code? I thought it was just this other idiot here trying to give out the code._

"You probably didn't count on Jet being from the future either, I'm guessing," Sonny said pointedly.

"The fact that that seems to be the case pisses me off to no end," Harry said bitterly. _And what's worse is that when I killed him yesterday I ended up immediately going back in time to just before I did! Killing him won't work in the end._

"Can't we all just get together and talk this out?" Bobby asked hopefully, "Can't we all just get along? I still don't even know why you hate me so much that you constantly avoided me until now."

"Why the hell do you think?" Larry asked bitterly, "You're always **killing** us."

"The **players** are, bro," Bobby said pointedly, "I just do what the controls tell me to. I'm a **pacifist**. How do you think I feel when **you** guys pop up and shoot at **me**? All I want to do is clear away a bunch of asteroids."

Harry scoffed.

"Just talk with Jet," Sonny said with an exasperated sigh, "What do you have to lose?"

* * *

"We should have made a more thorough plan.." Roxie said to herself as she boredly sat in her car. She rested her elbow on the door to support her head with her hand. _Is he coming pick me up? Or should I go find him? I guess he'll come pick me up since he's probably somehow getting an outfit ready._

She sighed and glanced over to her glove compartment. _I might as well read whatever that idiot Harry left on my car yesterday.._ She rolled her eyes and opened the glove compartment then proceeded to uncrumple the folded piece of paper that said 'A warning from Harry.' on the outside. She unfolded it and read its contents skeptically.

[Roxie, I've seen you associating with Turbo from Turbo Time. I don't know what sort of relationship you think you've got with him, but I promise you that it will lead to no good. If only you knew what he was capable of, you would slap yourself for even letting him live. Be careful around him, because otherwise he's going to get your game unplugged. The others from Turbo Time are equally untrustworthy. I'll contact you later to provide a better explanation.]

Roxie crumpled up the note and tossed it back into her glove compartment and sighed. _What the hell did I just read?_ She shook her head. _If anyone can't be trusted around here it's Harry. _"The only reason I'm still **alive** right now is because of those three," she said knowingly, "As if I can't trust them." _The only thing worrying me is that there was a kernel of truth in what he told the Battlezone guys. _"I suppose I can still just ask about it." She crossed her arms over her steering wheel and rested her head on them. _Hurry up, Turbo. I'm hungry.._

* * *

The gigantic carnivorous plants in the cemetery of the game Blood and Thunder purred as the water Sorceress poured over them soaked into their roots.

"Are you having a good day?" Sorceress asked them cheerfully as she petted them, "Set should be here soon, I suppose.. He said he'd come see me, so.." She stroked her chin. _I do wonder what I should say to him though. I don't want to make it awkward.._

A wisp floated next to her and landed on her shoulder.

"What do you want?" Sorceress asked dryly as she looked at the small glowing ball of light, "You'd better not go tricking anybody. The arcade is closed. You only do that to the players."

The wisp got off her shoulder and sputtered disappointedly before floating onto the top of her hand as if to pull her along.

"Follow you?" Sorceress said incredulously, "You know I'm not going to get lost.." _These things will be the death of me.._ She rolled her eyes and followed the wisp to a note placed in the eye holes of a suit of armor near the open gate near the exit. She grabbed it confusedly and read it before incinerating it with a fire spell. _As if.._

It was more or less the same note that Roxie received, but reworded slightly.

"Set wouldn't do that," Sorceress said firmly as she shooed the wisp away before heading towards the woods. _He may like pranking people, but he's not evil or hateful.._ _I think I would know if he planned to get games unplugged._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Harry Harry Harry.. By the way, Jameson is the Good Guy of Battlezone. He simply wasn't shown as he was just in Tapper's or something when the gang was in Battlezone.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	29. Sins Revealed

William waited patiently with his arms crossed as Jet entered the code to the code room of Turbo Time. He sighed as the door opened and they went inside. _There's just something off about all this._

"So we're here," Set said pointedly, "What is it that you're going to show us?"

"Follow me," William said tiredly as he led them along to Harry's file which was floating just off in the distance where it could hardly be seen.

"How did you even know this was here?" Jet asked curiously. _It wasn't noticeable in the slightest._

"Let's just say that I can see things differently than you can if I want to," William said dryly as he activated Harry's memory file to show a list of his memories. He typed into a small search field at the top of the list of memories after a holographic keyboard generated in front of him. _Let's see __now.. Search 'Turbo' __and 'RoadBlasters'__.. _The memories vanished without a trace, and then ones referring to the first instance of 'going Turbo' appeared one after the other. He tapped on the earliest one with his right hand and selected an option listed as 'Run as video'. A small screen popped up and promptly played the memory.

The video itself comprised mostly of people simply badmouthing Turbo out in Game Central Station, and them thanking their lucky stars that he supposedly got unplugged with RoadBlasters. People he had once considered 'acquaintances' were no exception. He didn't really have any close friends except for perhaps Felix, and Gene who had a similar appreciation for damn good parties. But there Gene was with everyone else in Game Central Station. It was a little known fact that Gene was the first to utter the phrase 'going Turbo'.

Turbo simply floated there silently, his mouth agape in disgusted shock. His heart ached as he was slammed with the cold, harsh reality of what he had done in the original timeline. What he did to RoadBlasters. What he did to **Roxie**. _I did that.._ He shook his head. _There's no doubt about it. I __**did**__ that.._ He swallowed hard as he anxiously pulled out his napkin with the Konami Code neatly written onto it. He stared at it hatefully. _What good could I possibly do if I hold onto this?_

William and the twins looked over to Turbo who was still deathly silent in contemplation. William narrowed his eyes, while Jet and Set were shocked to see the code in Turbo's hands in the first place. Turbo lightly pressed the napkin into William's hand without a word before leaving the game.

Jet watched as Turbo left. He was still trying to take in what just happened. _He gave up the code.. I didn't know he even **had** it.. Should I go after him?_

"Now's **your** turn, Set," William said reluctantly. _I guess I don't have to worry about Turbo.. I should still at least make sure he doesn't remember the code.._ "This doubles for Jet, of course, but he knows full well what the two of you did."

"Great.." Set said worriedly, "Whose life did we ruin besides my own?" He glared at Jet, mostly angry at himself. He sighed and shook his head as William accessed another of Harry's memories. _Did I do something to Sorceress?_ He clenched his teeth as he watched the memory intently. _Now I really need to know.._

The memory was a conversation in Battlezone, when the twins thought that they were alone. Harry had been suspicious of the two for a few days before Set officially grew **bored** of the game and decided it was time to move on. The video itself was useless, as neither Jet nor Set were on it. Just the extremely dark landscape, other stone obstacles, an empty tank, and the volcano out in the distance could be seen. The audio could be made out at least.

* * *

Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade, circa 2005.

Harry was in his UFO form. He didn't even **have** a human form in that timeline. He was hiding behind one of the large stone cubes to conceal his presence as he listened in on the disguised Jet and Set's conversation.

"Listen Jet," Set said in a hushed tone, "I think it's time we go to another game. This one is getting pretty old. I think we should go to that new one that just got plugged in about a week ago. **Joust**."

Joust was actually released in 1982, but Litwak had only bought it recently as he got a pretty good deal on it, and it also seemed to be pretty popular. What's not to love about a game where you joust while riding an ostrich?

"I don't like this, Set," Jet furrowed his brow nervously, "The more we do this.." He shook his head. "We're going to get caught. This game will get unplugged too.."

"It'll be okay, Jet," Set chuckled, though his eyes held a certain kind of seriousness in them. "I made a mistake in the previous ones.. But I have it figured out now. You go ahead and leave first as usual. I'll catch up with you at the gateway after fixing things back the way we found them."

Jet clenched his teeth worriedly and sighed, "Fine. Just.. make sure to be careful this time. Without you.."

"I won't leave you to fend for yourself," Set scoffed as he hugged his brother tightly and patted him on the back, "Everything will be **fine**."

"Do you still remember the code?" Jet asked worriedly, "I know it's been a while since we used it.."

"Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, B A Start," Set tiredly, "I'm not going to forget the code, Jet.. Now come on, we don't want to get caught, right?" He forced a smile.

Jet nodded and wiped his eyes of the tears he had begun to shed and left Battlezone while still inhabiting the body of Jameson.

Set sighed and went down the elevator to the thirteenth floor to begin his work.

"Damn it.." Harry muttered to himself as he quickly floated around as if he were pacing. _What do I do? There's nobody else on the surface __besides Larry and Jim..__ J__am- J__et left already __and I can't fit in the elevator, let alone press the buttons.._

A few minutes later, the stone pyramids disappeared without a trace. A moment later, so did the cubes, including the elevator going down. Everybody in the game except for Harry, Larry, and Jim, the UFO that originated in Battlezone was in the underground base asleep. Larry and Jim were shooting at the volcano in the distance to kill time since they lacked the metabolic processes which required rest.

Harry frustratedly flew over to the volcano in hopes of at least getting his brothers out of the game before it got unplugged in a few hours when the arcade opened, but when he finally did retrieve them and made his way to the exit with them in tow, there was a large stone pyramid blocking the tunnel. There was a crack just large enough for a human to fit however.

Not that Harry knew, but from the code room, Set unmerged Jet and Jameson, then set the latter's coordinates to inside the base, in the barracks. In effect this 'called' him back to Battlezone whether he liked it or not. After doing this, Set unmerged himself from Renko and quickly changed his own coordinates to somewhere near the tunnel and left.

Inside Set's mind, this had always been a delaying tactic of sorts. They had **everything** they needed to fix the game if they could just figure out how. Renko **should** have been able to recall everything Set ever did while in his body. He **should** have been able to follow everything Set did, except in reverse to undo the damage. They could have even used the 'Help' program named 'Tanky' to do a full restore if that was somehow necessary.

Set was unaware of one fatal fact in all this, however. It takes **time** to remember such details. The memories were there, as he knew they should be, but for hours they would be fuzzy and fragmented at best. From his perspective those guys just didn't care enough to figure out how to fix the problem and chose to live somewhere else instead even though it didn't make sense to him. For the longest time he didn't even try to understand 'non-greys', so it was nothing new to him when they did something that defied logic.

Fortunately, Battlezone would be the fourth and final game which met this fate.

* * *

"Do you see now?" William asked in an accusatory tone, "I don't suppose **you** have a copy of the code as well?" _I'll find out either way when I wipe any traces of it from his memory.._

"No," Set stared blankly at the now-ended video, "That.. But that still doesn't prove that I got the game unplugged on purpose though! Sure, what we did there was.. wrong.. **Abhorrent** even.. But I was the only one there, maybe I was just slowing them down or something so that they couldn't chase after us. Sonny **easily** fixed a kill screen on our game just yesterday! Couldn't they have fixed their game as well? Shouldn't they have remembered what I did in their body or something?" _There.. There has to be an explanation for this.. I wouldn't just kill a game like that just because I was bored of it, right?_ He cradled his head with his hands and shut his eyes tight. _I wasn't really a monster in that other future, was I? _He swallowed hard as he desperately tried to make sense of this overwhelming bit of new information.

"It's a moot point regardless, as the crime hasn't been committed," William said pointedly, "But I'm going to make sure that it **won't** be committed.. By ensuring that you can't break into code rooms to alter anything, I can rest easy knowing that the arcade is safe. That's all that matters in the end." _His explanation is possible, though nobody really knows what he did in the code room that day.. Not even Jet. _He sighed.

"What about me?" Jet asked worriedly. _What will you do?_

William shook his head and sighed again, "I don't even know.. I think I should have a look at **your** memory files before deciding anything." _We'll just have to see from there.. He's a.. special case._

"Can.. can I go?" Set pleaded nervously, "I gotta get out of here.."

"Go ahead.." William said somewhat sympathetically as he turned away and closed his eyes. _This is exactly why I didn't want them to come here.. How would I feel if someone revealed to me without a shadow of a doubt that in an alternate future I committed atrocious crimes against the arcade? I can't even imagine.._

Set slowly made his way out of the code room as Jet followed William to his file.

Jet's heart raced. _Should I pinpoint some memories for him to look at? Does it even matter which ones he looks at? Damn it.. I don't want to lose this room. I can do so much good here.._

* * *

**Author's Note:** In case you're wondering, 'Jim' isn't the UFO's file name. He just gave himself a name rather than be known simply as 'UFO'. I'll answer any questions you may have if I failed to make something clear enough. Just let me know.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	30. Friendly Guidance

Turbo rested his head on his palm as he sat in Tapper's. With his free hand he slowly turned his half-empty glass back and forth by its handle. This wasn't his first glass, of course. There were no less than three empty glasses sitting nearby already. _What should I do?_

"You look like you're having fun," Sonny said dryly as he sat across from Turbo and crossed his arms. Turbo nearly jumped out of his skin. "And now you look like you've seen a ghost." He scoffed.

Turbo sat up straight, crossed his arms, and scoffed, "Yeah the ghost of Christmas Future.."

"I see.." Sonny sighed, "I can tell it hit you pretty hard. I more or less have it figured out, I think.." _If I'm right, I know the what and why, just not the how and when.._

"It's worse when you actually **see** it," Turbo grumbled, "Or at least the reaction to it. You're not gonna go against me too, are you?" _Even Gene. **Gene** of all people! Some friend he turned out to be._

"Well it's not like you're going to do it," Sonny said plainly, "So why **would** I?"

"But I have the **potential** to," Turbo hissed in a hushed voice, "I knew right away it's something I would have done had I not met her.." _As well as a few other factors thanks to Jet no doubt.._

"But you **met** her," Sonny scoffed, "If it's bothering you so much, why don't you talk to **her** about it? She's probably waiting for you to show up anyway, right?"

Turbo sighed and rested his head low on his arms on the counter, "I do have a dinner date planned for tonight, but honestly I don't think I deserve her company. Not after what I just saw.. Besides, I promised her I'd have a more fitting outfit and I don't have one. I was going to ask you for a favor in that regard, but.." He scoffed. "Yeah, you can see the kind of mood I'm in."

Sonny rolled his eyes and said, "I can help you out with that.. Look, do you want to be **happy**, or do you want to stay miserable?"

"I don't **deserve** to be happy," Turbo grumbled. _Not after hearing that I 'went Turbo' in the future._

Sonny laughed, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're being right now? You didn't do anything wrong **here** as far as I can see." _It'd be a different story if he did it even after finding out he did it in the other timeline.._

"Ridiculous?!" Turbo hissed loudly as he somewhat stood up and leaned over the counter. He sat back down and breathed deeply through his nose a few times as he counted to ten in his head.

"Just a bit," Sonny chuckled dryly, "The way I see it you have two options, okay? One, you can prove Harry right about you and your game mates. Or two, you can let yourself be happy and in the process prove that you're better than you were in the timeline Jet originally came from."

Turbo sighed and scratched his head lightly, "Being happy sort of hinges on Roxie wanting to be with someone who potentially gets her game unplugged, you know?" _Why would she?_

"Come on," Sonny said as he rolled his eyes, "Let's just get you fixed up and we'll go from there, okay? You want me to tag along when you go meet her as well?"

"I don't like people hovering over me, so I'd have to decline that last offer," Turbo grumbled as he finished his glass of root beer and jumped off his stool. _Why he wants to help me is a mystery._

"Alright," Sonny scoffed as he stood up, "Then let's just get you taken care of."

* * *

Set made his way to the cemetery of Blood and Thunder and sat down on a crumbling stone bench amidst several gravestones with his arms crossed. "Well if it isn't my 'friend' from before," he muttered as a wisp floated over to him, "What? Trying to cheer me up or something?"

The wisp made itself comfortable by nestling itself in Set's hair.

"Thanks, I guess.." Set sighed reluctantly, "You think Sorceress would be home right now?" _I guess I need to tell her a few things. If I don't, that would just prove I really am the monster I'm made out to be in the future. The problem is how to tell her._

The wisp floated up off of Set's head and nudged his back to softly push him off the bench and to his feet.

"You gonna show me where she is?" Set asked incredulously, "I **do** remember the last time you led me somewhere.." _Right into a den of spiders that have acidic spit.._ He could swear that the wisp sighed, judging from the way it floated, though it made no noise aside from a faint twinkling sound.

The wisp led him out of the cemetery and in the opposite direction of the woods. There was no path however, as the players were never able to go that way due to an invisible wall that was only present during gameplay. It was cleverly disguised by rows of tall, thick bushes.

Set grumbled a few complaints as he squeezed through several of the bushes which came up to his neck. _Why am I even following it?_ Just beyond that he came to a short cliff above a rather large lake which he almost fell into in his rush. _Easy now.._ The water was crystal clear and he could suddenly taste salt on the air.

Regrettably Set had no time to take in the calming scenery of the full moon reflecting in the gentle waves on the lake before the wisp nudged him along. "How far are we doing?" he sighed. _I hope it's not leading me into another death trap.._

The wisp continued to lead the way along the coast of the lake to a small beach near the mouth of a cave. The mouth of the cave was covered in a moss that grew all around it and some hung down as if the cave were trying to mask itself next to the lush flora surrounding it to the sides just before the sands of the beach. It lightly nudged Set in the back three times towards the cave before nestling itself in his hair again.

"In here?" Set asked with an incredulous smile as he attempted to look at the wisp on the top of his head. _Why did I think I'd be able to see it?_ The wisp lightly bounced twice. "Okay, well if you say so.." He chuckled and dared to venture into the cave, regardless of the possibility that it was simply another trap. The walls of the cave were dark for a while, illuminated solely by the light of the wisp nestled in his hair. After a minute of traveling down the single cave tunnel he came to a wide open expanse with large, brightly shining crystals growing from the ceiling and walls. The crystals shone mostly in either soft blues, whites, or yellows, but off in the distance there were some that shone red. In front of those, the silhouette of Sorceress could just barely be made out.

* * *

"You caused a lot more trouble in your future than I thought," William said in mild surprise as he finished watching another of Jet's memories. He had been watching them for an hour now, watching ones that Jet recommended.

The memories mostly had to do with Jet in Sugar Rush 2 or with Crumbelina as he simply wanted to see them again, though he didn't say so explicitly. "I know.." he said solemnly, "But that's why I've been working so hard now. To make sure it doesn't happen again. But Harry sort of blew that up in my face. Now Turbo and Set both know what they did in the timeline I came from. I would have preferred to avoid that."

"Understandable," William said with a nod, "But you know, secrets like that can only be held for so long once the cat pokes its head out of the bag."

Jet thought for a moment and said, "Right.." _Weird metaphor.._ "Is there any way that you can let me keep the code? I **need** this room.." _For my sanity.._

William sighed, "You **know** that's just asking for trouble."

"I won't let the others in.." Jet said earnestly as he stared at the open listing of memories he shared with Crumbelina. _This one was our first kiss.._ He felt a pang of loneliness as he found himself deciding whether or not to watch it then and there. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he blinked them away. _Not right now. Maybe not ever if this doesn't go well.._

"Strange as it sounds, I don't think they'll even want in again," William said plainly as he adjusted his glasses, "Look, from what I gather you could've caused a lot of damage and mischief with this already.. I'll look the other way for now.. but you'd better keep me appraised of these sorts of things from now on.. Deal?" _And don't make me regret this.._

Jet chuckled solemnly, "Deal.." _Thank you, William.._ He subtly shook his head. _**Say**__ it.._ "Thank you, William.."

"Yeah, well," William sighed as he wrote something onto his clipboard, "I can't really go screwing up the future, can I? Just send me a Christmas card or something." _Poor guy.. I still can't imagine what he must be going through.  
_

Jet swallowed hard and closed his eyes as William left the code room. He heaved a deep, shaky breath as he played the video of the memory he eyed before.

* * *

Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade, circa 2013.

"**Turbo**.. He was the one who started that whole mess.." Crumbelina said pointedly as she drove Jet towards his home in Sugar Rush 2.

Jet's helmet remained the same from his days in Turbo Time, but everything else about his appearance was changed when he was reformatted to be a racer there. His skin was no longer grey, and his teeth and eyes were no longer yellow. He wasn't wearing his helmet at the time, as he only did so while racing. He preferred to let his short, unruly brown hair breathe. The rest of his outfit was blue, much the same color as his old jumpsuit, but rather than a jumpsuit it consisted of a racing jacket with the initials JC on the back in yellow stylized letters, with a white t-shirt underneath. His pants were blue, about what you would expect, matching nicely with his jacket.

"Yeah.. Of course Set and I did the same **voluntarily**," Jet said pointedly, "The fault can't be placed on him alone.." _It was either that or be homeless._

"But it was your brother's idea to do the same, **wasn't** it?" Crumbelina asked.

"Kind of.." Jet said uncomfortably as he furrowed his brow, "Set made the decision, yeah, but I went along with it." _This isn't something you can just make excuses for.._

"So you **did** do it because of him," Crumbelina said softly.

"Yes and no.." Jet sighed again, "It doesn't excuse what I did, not by a long shot. But a big part of it **was** for his sake.. He was always the more reckless one. It's one of the reasons he was so good at racing.. He didn't care one jot for the consequences. The cars regenerate for each race, so damage wasn't any concern. If we died inside our game, we would regenerate as well.. I knew that he would just end up getting killed if he did it alone. But I also didn't want to be homeless and alone myself, never being relevant to anything.. It's a painful existence that nobody should have to be subjected to.. So I was **just** as selfish as he was. He was just more ruthless about it." _It's only now that I've raced again, however, that I truly feel whole.._

"But if it weren't for Set.." Crumbelina said softly as she glanced over to him, "Would you **still** have done it?"

Jet sighed. _I don't have an answer for that._ "I honestly don't know," he said seriously. _I've been asking myself that since Set died.._

"Then I'd like to believe you **wouldn't** have," Crumbelina said firmly yet sweetly, "Just for the sake of argument.."

"That's nice of you to say," Jet chuckled somberly. _If I argue anymore she'll likely get fed up with me. I waited 30 and a half years to finally have a girlfriend, I don't want to lose her in a single day.. Or at all._

Crumbelina pulled up to Jet's house and sighed, "Well, we're here.."

"Thanks for the ride," Jet said with a nervous smile as he got out of her kart. He had walked halfway to his house before he heard her feet hit the ground. He turned around, almost in shock. _What's she doing?_

"I wanted to thank you as well.." Crumbelina said softly as she slowly walked up to him, "For talking to me about everything.." Her heart was going full throttle. "I know it's been hard on you, all things considered.."

"I'm glad you were willing to listen," Jet said earnestly as he hugged her tightly, "You have **no** idea how much it means to me.." _I probably just crossed a line.._

Crumbelina ran her fingers through Jet's hair as she kissed him tenderly on the lips. "Well, I'd better go.." she giggled and smiled nervously, "I'll come pick you up when the arcade is ready to open." She skipped back to her kart.

Jet stood there dumbfounded for a while as Crumbelina hopped back into her kart and drove off in the direction of her house. "How am I supposed to sleep?!" Jet nervously chuckled to himself aloud as he went inside his house, "No idea what's going on in her head.." He laid in bed, still thinking about her. _She's too nice.. Then again Taffyta and Rancis are really nice as well. I don't deserve that kind of treatment. Does it have something to do with the sugary nature of the game?_ He smiled faintly and looked over his hand in awe at how normal it was before touching a few fingers to his lips. _I love her.._ He grinned like an idiot and somehow managed to easily fall asleep.

* * *

"Damn, I miss her.." Jet muttered as he closed out the memory. Fresh tears stung his eyes as he sighed a shaky sigh before deciding to look around in Harry's memories a bit more. _Can't throw myself a pity party, right?_ He sniffed and rubbed his eyes.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just a bit more Crumbelina. I couldn't resist ;). The kiss shown here occurs on chapter 10 of 'The Honeyglow Surge', though it's slightly reworded here. Also I'm starting to like that wisp :p.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	31. Elena Appears

"And you're **really** sure?" Turbo asked as he switched forms repeatedly to test it. _As amazing as this is, __I don't want to get my game unplugged for something like this.._ It was about a half hour since Sonny brought him to Paperboy's code room to make him a different outfit. He got more than he expected in the process.

"Absolutely positive," Sonny chuckled, "You can ask Bobby later if you don't believe me." At least I didn't have to make his from scratch like I had to do for Bobby.

"No, I'll trust you.." Turbo said plainly as he admired himself in pure awe before switching back to normal, "It's the least I can do." _Best to stay like this for now.._

"Go on now," Sonny said with a grin, "You don't want to keep your date waiting." _I'd swear he's about to cry if I didn't know any better._

"I may not end up having a date after this," Turbo scoffed, "**Or** a girlfriend. But you're right.." He sighed.

"You know, you're not such a bad guy after getting to know you," Sonny said as the two left the code room. The tunnel leading to it was down a manhole just past the 'Training Course', which was an obstacle course on dirt which had numerous ramps and traffic cones, and bullseyes for players to throw newspapers at.

"I appreciate you saying that," Turbo chuckled seriously. _Although what I did according to Harry's memory.. **and** Jet's.. is beyond just bad. But it doesn't make sense either. Why would I get my own game unplugged on purpose? That's the one thing I can't rationalize. I love my game.._

"Whatever she decides, I'm on your side," Sonny said as he patted Turbo on the shoulder, "I might be able to help change her mind if things don't go so well."

A motorcycle screeched to a halt in front of them as they were nearing the game's exit. Turbo jumped back about a foot, although it proved to be unnecessary.

The rider of the motorcycle slowly raised her sunglasses onto the top of her head. "Turbo!" the woman said sheepishly as she slowly ran her fingers through her light red hair, "I.. didn't expect to see you here.." She was wearing a biker's jacket over a white t-shirt and had black leather pants.

"Ah.." Turbo chuckled awkwardly, "Hello, Elena.. You seem to be doing well.." He subtly inched closer to the exit as he adjusted his stance. _This could be bad.._

"Your date is going to get mad if you keep her waiting, Turbo," Sonny said pointedly as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. _The last thing he needs right now is an old flame._

"Date?" Elena asked as she furrowed her brow and pouted, "We've only been broken up a month and you've **already** got another girlfriend?" She scoffed. _So much for __me__ being 'the one'._

"Gotta run!" Turbo said nervously as he made his way out of the game, "Sorry!" _'Only a month,' she says! She made her feelings quite clear when she broke up with me. I have Roxie now regardless.. Well, __**hopefully**__._

Elena frustratedly puffed out her cheeks and barked, "What are **you** still doing here, Sonny? Reveling in the fact that I just got rejected?" _Can't you see I'm hurting right now?_

"It's not **my** fault he's got a girlfriend," Sonny scoffed as he crossed his arms, "Why are you taking it out on **me**? Besides, from what I heard you broke up with him first."

"Well yeah, because he can be a **jerk**!" Elena said frustratedly as she glared into his eyes, "I was just teaching him a lesson for a while.." _Maybe a little longer than I should have.._

"Well I'm not a **jerk**," Sonny said nonchalantly as he cocked a brow, "But I **am** a man." _Although that wasn't always the case._

"Who's he dating now?" Elena asked as she pouted again and fixed her gaze on the game's exit. _That's __pretty__ low, hitting on someone who was just rejected._

"The Good Girl of RoadBlasters," Sonny said plainly, "So no reaction at all, huh?" _I had a lot of confidence in my looks too.._

"Figures he'd go for her," Elena scoffed before rolling her eyes in his direction again, "Why are you even hitting on me all of a sudden? I thought you were gay." _How many girls did he turn down, I wonder?_

"What?!" Sonny scoffed with an annoyed smile, "No, I'm not gay. What gave you that impression?" _Is __**that**__ how people around here see me?_

"I've seen you turn down just about every girl in this game that approached you for one," Elena said pointedly, "Although I haven't seen you socialize with anybody **at all** really since you came here, come to think of it.. So how do you know Turbo?"

"Long story short, somebody put a kill screen on his game and I fixed it," Sonny said with a shrug, "I can tell you more over dinner if you'd like.." _Although maybe minus some details._

"You still didn't tell me why you're hitting on me," Elena sighed as she scratched her head, "If you're doing it out of pity, you can forget it." _I shouldn't have broken up with Turbo.. __I wonder who could have put a kill screen on his game though._

"I just never really thought about it seriously before now, I guess," Sonny said, "I've been talking with the Turbo Time guys lately and there's been a lot of talk about the subject and well, you don't look like you're doing anything right now."_ I've also been in a socializing mood lately, I guess._

Elena sucked her teeth in annoyance and said, "Fine. I'll give you a shot I guess. But you kind of suck at talking to people, you know that? Turbo was worse at it though.." _Especially when he got to yelling. But he could be a real sweetheart when he was in a good mood.._

"Point taken," Sonny said with a grin, "So shall we go now, or would you prefer to wait until later?"

"Let's go I guess," Elena sighed. _At least he's __**tall **__and handsome__._

* * *

"Hey buddy," Set whispered up to his glowing friend atop his head, "I appreciate the help, but can I take it from here? No offense intended.."

The wisp twinkled a sigh as it floated off Set's head and pressed itself lightly into his cheek before floating back into the tunnel.

Set scoffed through his nose as a grin crept onto his face. _It's more like a she, I guess? I'd be a little creeped out if it was a 'male' wisp that did that.._ He sighed as he slowly made his way to Sorceress' silhouette, "I suppose I'd better hurry and talk to her. No idea what to say though." _Silently.. I want to surprise her for some reason._

Sorceress was sitting on a boulder with her legs crossed, just staring at the red shining crystals growing on the wall before her. _I just don't know what to make of this situation.._

"This place is beautiful," Set said softly as he made his presence known.

Sorceress jumped slightly, though it was hardly noticeable. _How did he find this place?_ Although she didn't turn to face him, she furrowed her brow and said, "Yes, it is.."

"I have a confession of sorts to make," Set sighed as he lightly scratched his head and sat on the ground Indian style nearby. _Think Brain, think! _He clasped his hands together.

"I'm listening," Sorceress said softly as she cocked a brow and finally turned to face him. _Is it about that note? Did he get one too?_

"I finally saw what I was up to in the future that Jet came from," Set said seriously as he kept his gaze fixed on his hands, "It isn't pretty.. The surge protector showed Jet and I one of Harry's memories. It was a conversation Harry was listening in on between Jet and I.. We had apparently temporarily taken over the lives of two characters in Battlezone somehow and I caused the game to get unplugged when we moved on to another game."

Sorceress' heart suddenly ached when the realization that this is what Harry meant hit her. _He really __did something __like that __in the future__? _She furrowed her brow again and continued to listen as he went on.

"I.." Set sighed as he turned his head up to face her, "It's weird though, you know? I don't see **why** I would intentionally get a game unplugged.. I know I'm a troublemaker, but that's something that I can't picture myself actually doing on **purpose**. I wouldn't wish that kind of thing on anybody, especially if I would have experienced it myself.. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened in Jet's other future.. I'm apparently messed up in the head in the future or something, I don't know.."

Sorceress breathed deeply through her nose. The rising and falling of her chest was the only discernible movement that she made. _He certainly doesn't seem like the type to do something like that. So what happened to change things?_

Set swallowed hard and asked, "What should I **do**? I've never had to worry about this sort of thing happening before.." _Normally I wouldn't care about what happens when I decide to do something, but __**that**__? I can't allow myself to become like that.._

Sorceress' face softened. _What should __**I**__ do?_

"I don't know if you'd even want to still date me after hearing all this," Set chuckled nervously, "I just I thought you should know what kind of person I apparently turned out to be.."

"Question.." Sorceress breathed deeply prompting Set to straighten his back slightly, "How sure are you that you won't do that now, now that you know you did it then? Can you **promise **me that you won't do something like that?" _If he can promise me, that's good enough.._

"Absolutely.." Set said seriously, "I know that I've still got a lot of work to do on my behavior, but I absolutely won't do something like that. I won't even go into one of those code rooms again, as cool as those are.. It's best that I steer clear from that sort of thing altogether."

"In that case I won't hold that against you," Sorceress said as she allowed a relieved smile to purse her lips. _I'd rather trust my heart on this one even if one future says otherwise. There are an infinite amount of possible futures, after all._

The wisp was watching from the other side of the room, just barely peeking around the corner at the tunnel. It danced around in the air just out of sight when it saw Sorceress pull Set into a hug.

"We'll just have to make sure you stay a good guy, hmm?" Sorceress asked softly as she ran her fingers through Set's hair and tightened her hold around him just slightly. _I won't let him be corrupted.._

"I love you," Set said softly as he hugged her tightly, "I didn't really even know that feeling before meeting you, believe it or not.. Jet was pretty much the only person I ever really had, although it was my fault.." _She sort of knew this already, I'm sure, but..  
_

"As long as you realize that, it's fine," Sorceress said softly, "I love you too.." _I hardly understand that feeling __**now**__. E__ven after experiencing it._

"If.. If you want to bite me," Set chuckled nervously, "I'm okay with that." _She's hovering over my neck already, she might as well._

"Bad idea," Sorceress scoffed wryly as she released him and pulled away slowly, "I'd rather not risk you passing out, or me bleeding you dry.. Why did you even enjoy being bitten?" _That's weird in itself._

"I dunno," Set said wryly, "But I **did**.. Didn't you enjoy doing it? C'mon, don't lie."

"I'm a **vampire**," Sorceress sighed as she furrowed her brow, "Why wouldn't I?"

"You sure that's the only reason?" Set asked wryly. _It can't be._

Sorceress scrunched her shoulders and said, "Why'd we have to start talking about this all of a sudden?" _Most people would be too weirded out to bring it up to begin with.._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Turbo's other look will be shown when he meets up with Roxie.

Sorry about the lack of Roxie this chapter. She'll be in the next, as will Jet. Also, don't expect the Sonny/Elena stuff to show up often. I would really rather keep the focus of this story a **bit** more narrow than I went with 'The Honeyglow Surge'. I just don't want it to seem like it's coming from out of nowhere when it shows up on occasion.

I have written two oneshots, each possibly being the next story I work on. If you'd like, I would appreciate it if you checked it out and voted on which you prefer to see be written next. See below for their titles.

Current profile poll: After reading the two oneshots 'Sugar Rush: Version 2' and 'Wrecking Man', which do you want to see continued more?


	32. New and Improved

Turbo's heart leapt into his throat when he saw Roxie leaning her back against the side of her car with her arms crossed. How long she was waiting like this, he'd never know. _It couldn't have been __**that**__ long._

"Turbo.." Roxie said in a playfully annoyed tone, "You're not dressed properly." _Maybe I shouldn't have dinner with him as punishment.. Nah, that __woul__d be __punishing me too__. __Besides, I'd like to check out that restaurant __and eat something decent._

"Well.." Turbo started nervously as he drummed his hands at his sides, "I have something to tell you before we go, and I didn't know if you would still want to go after I tell you.."

"What did you do this time?" Roxie asked as she cocked her brow. _He's hopeless without me there, huh?_

"It's not so much what I did," Turbo sighed as he walked closer and scratched his head, "Or maybe it is.." _How should I say it?_

"C'mon, just spill," Roxie said laughed. _He's worried about telling me, whatever it is. __Is it about the note?_

"It's no laughing matter.." Turbo said seriously, "The surge protector showed me what happened to our games according to Harry's memory.. He didn't see the actual event itself, but everyone else who had a role in the memory seemed to know exactly what happened."

"So what happened?" Roxie asked seriously while furrowing her brow.

Turbo opened his mouth, but hesitated a moment, "**I** did it.. It was all **my** doing.." _I said it.._ He fought off the sensation of fear he suddenly felt creeping into his mind as best he could. _I had to say it._

Roxie breathed deeply through her nose. _Well there's the kernel of truth I __was expecting with Harry's warning__._

Turbo took her near-expressionless reaction as a sign to keep talking, though he did so in a more anxious tone, "People were saying things like I was driving around in here in my car trying to get the player's attention. I made you crash into things.. Stuff like that." He sighed. "In the end our cars collided and the game crashed for some reason. Right after that, both of our games were unplugged.." _I'm not sure what happened after that, but I don't really want to find out either. This much is bad enough._

"Did you really need attention **that** bad?" Roxie asked disappointedly, "I mean, **really**?" _It does sound like something he's capable of._

"I sort of told you before, didn't I?" Turbo said dryly as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat, "I don't do my best thinking when I'm angry. I was likely desperate for attention by then, any kind." _I'd be very surprised if I knew her at all when I did that in the future.._ "And I've already told you I'm not really as popular as I make myself seem." _I still don't know why I told her that yesterday. Not that I regret it, I suppose._

"Yeah, well.." Roxie said uncomfortably as she scratched her head with the tip of one of her fingers, "I was sort of warned by Harry so it's not really much of a shock to hear you say all this."

"That explains your reaction," Turbo said with a nod, "That guy.." _Harry is really becoming a nuisance. Forget about him. _He shook his head._ More importantly.._ "Are- Do you still want to go out? With somebody like me, I mean.."

"Sure," Roxie shrugged, "I'm pretty sure you're not going to pull something like that now. I mean, you and our friends are the only reason I'm still here. That counts for something."

"Really?" Turbo asked incredulously, "I got your game unplugged!"

"You got **yours** unplugged too," Roxie said pointedly, "And Jet is making sure crap like that won't happen right? So I'm not even going to worry about it. Although I **am** disappointed that you would do something like that under any circumstances.."

"Sorry," Turbo winced.

"You're popular with me, that should be plenty good right?" Roxie asked softly.

"..Yes," Turbo said softly as a small smile made its way onto his face. _I suppose it is.._

"But about your outfit.." Roxie said, "You **did** get one in the end, right? You should be wearing it already.."

"Well it's just that it's something Sonny did for me," Turbo said sheepishly, "I didn't want to give you any reason to freak out before I finished explaining.." He glitched into his other appearance.

He was suddenly a few feet taller, just a few inches shorter than Roxie. He retained his original face and skin color, though his head was ever so slightly resized to match with his new body proportions. His new outfit was something he had always wanted, what with him secretly being a fan of disco music. It was a white suit with the collar popped up and black dance shoes.

"The extra height wasn't really my idea," Turbo chuckled nervously, "but I'm not about to complain.. Being short sucks."

Roxie grinned wryly and narrowed her eyes at him. _I don't quite believe that last bit._ "Okay, you pass."

Turbo cleared his throat, "So shall we go then?"

"Yeah.. Did you have to set up reservations or anything?" Roxie asked as she walked over to him. She sheepishly draped her arm over his shoulder and rested her hand lightly on his chest as the two slowly walked in the direction of RoadBlasters' exit. _This is much better, yeah.._

"Nah," Turbo said dismissively as he rested his hand on Roxie's hip, "The restaurant is run by Bad Guys so they don't really get enough customers for that to be necessary." _One, two, three.. No complaint, hmm?_

"You like to live dangerously, don't you?" Roxie asked wryly. _I guess he's earned __**some**__ touching rights._

"You don't mind, do you?" Turbo asked cautiously, "I-I just figured you were used to me touching you by now.." _I was hoping we were past th__e__ point __of me needing to worry about it__.. Not that I really deserve it after seeing the playback of that memory._

"It's fine," Roxie chuckled, "So how does it feel being tall all of a sudden?" _I'm still a few inches taller, __but this works out good._

"It feels Turbo-tastic," Turbo scoffed, "I nearly tripped a few times in this body though. Not that it's anything I can't get used to."

"Turbo-tastic?" Roxie teased, "That's your catchphrase, right? I heard it a few times when the arcade was open."

"It slips out sometimes," Turbo sighed. _I just had to say it.._

"I'm sorry about what that one kid said earlier, by the way.." Roxie said as she furrowed her brow, "I imagine it must have been pretty frustrating."

"It's not your fault. Don't worry about it," Turbo said before a wry grin worked its way on his face, "I finally get to touch those jeans of yours, so let's just call it even."

"Jeans this, jeans that," Roxie scoffed as they stepped onto the train.

"Well I can't help it, they're attention grabbing.." Turbo said wryly as they sat down, "And sexy. How do they even fit?"

"Tightly?" Roxie guessed as she cocked a brow.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?" Turbo asked worriedly, "If I'm getting out of hand.."

Roxie sighed, "We'll see.."

"What does that even **mean**?" Turbo laughed.

* * *

While invading the privacy of Harry's mind, Jet happened to notice Harry's **character** file bleep twice as it came into existence nearby. _Harry's here.. Well I don't want him coming in __**here**__ so I'd better leave the room so the door can close. _He heaved a sigh of relief as the door to the code room closed behind him when he left.

Jet waited around and walked around inside the stadium for a few minutes, expecting Harry to come to him, yet he never showed up. He eventually made his way to the exit where Harry had been waiting the entire time.

"Jet.." Harry said dryly as he looked up. He was in his human form, sitting Indian style in his army outfit.

"I take it you're not here to cause trouble **this** time?" Jet asked dryly as he crossed his arms. _So why __**are**__ you here?_

"That's rather ironic, coming from **you**," Harry said pointedly.

"Touche," Jet sighed, "But as you can see, I'm actually **fixing** things. Unlike what **you** nearly did."

"Bull roar," Harry said bitterly, "I'm only trying to make sure **you** lot don't screw anybody else over. Getting rid of you was the easiest way I could think of to do that."

"You're doing just the opposite with **everything** you do. I think that should be obvious by now," Jet said bitterly. _Relax. Relax.._ "For what it's worth, I'm **sorry** about everything Set and I did in the future. But we're all different now than we were in the timeline we both came from." _Why do we even come from the same timeline? It's not like we came from the same point in time. Wouldn't he have changed the future before I even had one to come back from?_

"**Everyone** keeps telling me that," Harry spat, "I can't trust **any** of you though. You've already gotten me killed once."

"You've already returned **that** favor, so the feeling is mutual," Jet said, "So what **did** you come here for?" _Let's hear it._

"Sonny insisted I come talk to you," Harry shrugged, "So here I am **talking** to you."

"A lot of help it's doing either one of us so far," Jet said as he took his helmet off and dropped it in the grass behind him.

"You're not going to desperately try to convince me?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I would like to think that my results speak for themselves," Jet said pointedly as he crossed his arms again, "Turbo fell in love with the Good Girl of RoadBlasters despite the fact that it's the game that originally drove him to the point of going Turbo. Set fell in love with Sorceress and is learning how to trust and enjoy the company of other people as far as I can tell." He furrowed his brow. "I grew a backbone.. Even after you set up a **kill screen **in this game and led us into a trap in Battlezone, Turbo and Set **still** didn't freak out to the point of hurting anybody.. **Meanwhile**, because of **you** Felix, Sonny, and Roxie were **killed** and I had to fix that with the help of the Battlezone guys, who are **still **alive and well I might add." He breathed deeply. "So as you can see, it's safe to say that **you're** the one screwing things up in this timeline. If you want to help, then either don't do **anything**, or talk to me when you get an idea."

"Why are you doing all this?" Harry asked incredulously after a long minute of silence. _Damn it.. Why does his logic have to be sound?_

"To undo every mistake I made the first time around," Jet said seriously, "I'll also have the added benefit of being able to impress my future girlfriend when I tell her about all this. I ain't gonna lie about there being that motivation as well.. Of course that's 25 years from now."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Turbo always wears the same "new" outfit every time I give him one. I think it suits him well.. And at least Harry knows the truth, as much as he hates to admit it.

I'm feeling pretty good about this chapter as well, I gotta say. Your thoughts?


	33. Going to Food Fight

"I take it being a vampire isn't something you're proud of then," Set said incredulously. _I couldn't imagine why._

"How'd you guess?" Sorceress asked somewhat sarcastically. _Kind of obvious, isn't it?_

"C'mon!" Set said with an incredulous grin, "It's awesome, you know?"

"Not when it makes everyone **afraid** of you," Sorceress said as she furrowed her brow further.

"Who's to say that's going to be the case forever?" Set asked, "Look at it this way. **I** think it's awesome, and our friends don't mind either." _The word 'friend' still leaves a bad taste in my mouth though. There should be a better sounding word for it. Maybe it's just because I never used it seriously before..  
_

"There isn't really a whole lot that can be done to change people's minds around here.." Sorceress said as she sat back down on the boulder she was perched on before.

Set shook his head, "That's not like you to say something like that. Aren't you the one who told me that I can stop pulling pranks if I put my mind to it? I haven't even pulled a prank since you said that. Nor have I really felt like it." _As far as I can recall, at least._

Sorceress pouted and looked away at the ground. _I guess he has a point.._ For no reason in particular she noticed a small rock. _It's a rock._

"I'll tell you what," Set said wryly as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, "Why don't we get a quick bite to eat, and then we can try to change a few minds about you? That sound good?.. Oh wait, I guess normal food wouldn't do much of anything for you.." He covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to think of an alternative to her drinking his blood since she wasn't up for it. _Hmm.._

"It's not that I **can't** eat normal food.." Sorceress mumbled, "It just isn't where I get most of my energy from."

"Sorry for asking," Set said as he too began to pout, "but that does bring up the question of what you've been eating.." _Has she been starving herself?_

"I haven't been eating much of anything," Sorceress winced slightly, "I'm not about to go biting random people like some would expect, and Bad Guys aren't exactly welcome out in Game Central Station.."

Set gaped, "No.. That's simply **not **good, Sorceress.." _There has to be something I can do about this.._

"I haven't been starving myself to death.." Sorceress said as she continued to look away and crossed her arms.

"But you just said.." Set said confusedly. _How then?_

"I wouldn't call it food," Sorceress sighed as she turned to face the glowing red crystals on the wall, "but I've been using these.." She slowly gestured upwards at the crystals with one of her hands. "They're bloodstones. They can be turned into a sort of blood substitute through alchemy.."

"Is that the same kind of gem on your necklace?" Set asked as he eyed the diamond-shaped crystal on her necklace. _Although it's not glowing like the ones on the wall._

"Yes.." Sorceress said with a hint of a smile beginning to play on her lips as she touched the bloodstone on her necklace. _I didn't think he'd notice. Then again I noticed a rock on the ground, so.._

"C'mon. I know of a restaurant ran by Bad Guys," Set said with a reassuring smile, "It may not be as good for you as blood, but you could always top off with me or your blood substitute if that ends up being necessary, right?" _I want to show her off.._

"That sounds fun," Sorceress said with a smile. _How is he supposed to be a bad person in the future? It seems so ridiculous even if it would have been true under different circumstances.._

* * *

"Turbo, table for two," Turbo said wryly as he approached the reception counter of Food Fight.

Despite what the game looked like in actual gameplay, the floor was not pitch black. Rather, it was made up of dark grey, interlocking tiles of decorative concrete. The walls were a bright yellow, and all around the large dining area there were evenly spaced lamps with small white lampshades on them, as well as a few paintings of beautiful real world landscapes. There were however, just as in the game, four holes in the ground which acted as elevators for the chefs to bring the food up from the basement-level kitchen. These holes also acted as ventilation so that the delightful smells of the cooking food could permeate the room to stimulate the appetite. To prevent diners from falling in, these holes were closed by a sliding grate while not in use.

"Right this way," Oscar said with a pleased, almost excited smile as he hopped down the small steps he stood on to be at eye level with his few, usual customers. He was a remarkably short man, about the same height as the Nicelanders, except his height was nearly doubled by his big, round chef's hat. The other three chefs of Food Fight were of an identical height. Each chef had their own face, though the player could only differentiate them by chef hat. _I hope Charley doesn't come out and ruin things. We have Turbo back! Although.. taller? Doesn't matter. He's back! Perhaps our dip in popularity will be fixed with his sudden reappearance._

"Things are still going rough here, I see.." Turbo said disappointedly as he looked around at the lack of people dining. _It's always like this when I first come back here. Lately it's just been BurgerTime. Wouldn't feel right coming here alone._

"I really like your outfit, Turbo," Oscar said warmly to initiate small talk as he led them to a table near a wall, but not too close, just the way Turbo liked it, "It really suits you."

"Oh, thanks," Turbo said with a proud smirk, "Just got it today.. Anyways, I'd like you to meet Roxie Rhodes. She's the Good Girl of RoadBlasters, the newest game on the strip."

"Hi," Roxie said with a reserved smile and nod. _This guy is so __**short**__.. Even shorter than Turbo's original look. Wow._

"The name's Oscar," Oscar said with a similar smile and nod as the couple sat down, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance.. Another of our staff will be with you in a moment to take your orders." _He's found himself another hottie. I guess that explains his absence for the last month or so._ He went back to the reception desk to wait for any other guests that may stop by.

It wasn't long before Zorba, another Food Fight chef came up from an elevator and delivered a meal to Satan (it's Satine, actually) of Satan's Hollow. Satan was sitting alone, across the room, near a wall so that he could lean his trident against it. Afterwards, Zorba made his rounds to take other orders, writing them on a small notepad.

"T-Turbo?" Zorba asked with a nervous, baffled smile as he walked to the couple's table. _Don't stare.._ He cleared his throat. "What can I get for you two today?" _He's tall.. Did his game get upgraded? _His chef's hat, unlike Oscar's, was slightly taller and slender.

Moments after taking their orders, Zorba returned to one of the floor-elevators and went down to give notices to the last two chefs, Angelo and Jacquez. Not long after that Charley came up from another elevator across the room. He was a young child of 9 years old. He had blond hair and wore a blue shirt with light khaki pants.

* * *

After having an unexpectedly uneventful, yet heated conversation about Jet's version of the future, Harry reluctantly left without doing anything. Not that he suddenly trusted Jet or the others. Far from it.

Jet, despite what he thought in regards to his skill at it, was becoming quite good at telling lies. Or at least telling 'lies by omission'. He hadn't told Harry of anything that happened before or after the Battlezone incident except that he had been accepted into Sugar Rush 2 as a racer. Jet's reasoning for this was fairly obvious: Why give Harry any more reason to distrust them? Especially since it was easy to see that the future was now on a far better track.

Jet sighed and decided, with some reluctance, to leave Turbo Time as well a while after Harry left. _Harry knows that he can't kill me. We'd be right back where we started._

Jet made his way out of the gateway of Turbo Time, which of course alerted William to check on things. William had simply cocked his brow and shrugged before zipping away without a word.

Jet sighed out of relief before heading into Tapper's. _I left my helmet on the ground, didn't I? Oh well.._

"Things look up today, Jet?" Ralph asked with a hopeful smile as he cocked his brow.

"Yeah, so far," Jet chuckled as he sat down across from him, next to Felix.

"That's a relief," Felix said with a grin and slow nod, "So what plans do you have for today?"

"Well," Jet sighed as a root beer slid his way, courtesy of a smirking Tapper, "I hadn't really thought about it much. Though I **was** hoping to cross paths with you guys in here. I hope you don't mind." _I don't want to interrupt any brotherly bonding._

"We don't mind at all," Ralph said with a smirk, "I noticed you're helmetless today. Any reason?"

"Nah, I sort of forgot I wasn't wearing it, actually," Jet laughed sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Feels good though.. I don't suppose either of you have seen Turbo? He was a bit.. upset.. when he left earlier. The same goes for Set." _I completely forgot.. I'd like to believe that they simply went talk to their girlfriends._

"Haven't seen them," Ralph shrugged, "I'm sure they're probably with Roxie and Sorceress." _I suppose I'd be rather upset too if **our** game was as popular as Turbo Time and then that suddenly got snatched away._

"Yeah, that's my guess as well," Jet said with a nod before taking a sip of his root beer. _How anybody can take more than two or three glasses of root beer at a time is beyond me.. Although __**Rancis**__ definitely could pack in a bit more. _He chuckled to himself._ Captain Starvation.._

"Something on your mind," Felix asked with a knowing, yet concerned grin.

Jet shook his head, "I'm just thinking of some friends of mine in the future.. I'm fine."

"Their game must not be plugged in yet," Ralph sighed knowingly. _Otherwise he'd have gone meet up with them, I'm sure. Although that would likely end up being awkward if he didn't know them yet. It makes me wonder how Felix and I are supposed to hook up with our 'original' girlfriends in 25 years.._

"Nah," Jet shook his head, "Not for another 25 and a half years. They're amazing people though. They took a liking to me right away, more or less.." _And it's all thanks to Taffyta that I started dating Crumbelina as soon as I did. Her and her big, matchmaking mouth.. _He chuckled again._  
_

"We'll hear you out," Felix said warmly, "What are friends for?" _It's a good thing, whatever it is he's thinking about._

"Alright.." Jet said warmly, "This was after the arcade closed the day after I officially became a legitimate part of Sugar Rush 2.. Crumbelina, the girl I'm waiting to see again, had taken me to her mother's cafe for lunch. We weren't dating at the time.." _Not until a short while later._

Ralph nodded then propped his arm on the table to rest his chin on his hand. _This may be interesting. 'My' girlfriend will be from that game after all.._

"Before we could really do much talking, **or eating**," Jet chuckled, "Taffyta and Rancis, the two friends I was referring to, showed up and made themselves at home at our table.."

"Sounds about right," Felix said with a grin, "They were being nosy." _I'd have done the same to Ralph in that situation, no doubt, if he suddenly had a girlfriend._

"Especially Taffyta," Jet laughed and muttered to himself, "What'd she say.. Well anyway, she straight up asked if she was interrupting a date between Crumbelina and I.. I got nervous and said a few things I shouldn't have and we ended up talking it over inside the building and began dating.." _It's embarrassing to talk about.._

"You sure glossed over that last bit pretty fast," Ralph chuckled, "I'm not surprised. It sounds embarrassing."

"Yeah.." Jet sighed and scratched his head, "I was.. insecure.. to say the least. Given my past.. **future** from your perspectives.. It was no secret to them, which really threw me through a loop. Crumbelina was even very insistent on dating me. It's something I still don't quite understand.. Although my appearance **was** changed to fit in with the game. It was a handsome skin though, from what I was told on more than one occasion.. So that was clearly one of the reasons, but aside from that there had to be another reason. She wasn't a shallow girl by any means.. We weren't dating long before I was killed in the future though, so I didn't really have much time to get to know her unfortunately.." _I'd rather not think about how depressed I'd be if I __**had**__ gotten to know her much better first._

"How did you die?" Felix asked seriously as he furrowed his brow. _Can Jet __**ever **__catch a break?_

"I keep forgetting to check the memory," Jet scoffed sheepishly, "but as far as I can remember, some guy threw something at me and it burned my skin away starting from the side of my stomach, and my hand where I touched it. It was like some kind of acid, I guess. He was a little short and was wearing a brown, hooded cloak, so I couldn't really tell who did it. It wasn't you though, I know that." _In case you're worried for some reason._

Felix nodded. _Well I don't see why it would have been me in the first place. Just because I'm short?_

"You and one of the ninja mooks from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were almost in time to save me.." Jet said as he swallowed hard, "I blacked out just as you were swinging your hammer down.." He sighed and shook his head before taking a gulp of his root beer. "I'm just relieved that I'm still alive and that I can make sure things go right." _I shouldn't blame him for not being that fraction of a second sooner. It's not his **or** Gary's fault._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just a bit more background on Jet's alternate future, for those of you who haven't read 'The Honeyglow Surge', or have forgotten due to it being written so long ago. Also, yay! I finally got around to introducing Charley, though he hasn't done anything yet.

The chapters of 'The Honeyglow Surge' that are referenced are 5, 6, and 8 for Jet, Crumbelina, Rancis, and Taffyta at 'Cafe DiCaramello' when Jet and Crumbelina start dating. Although I think 'Captain Starvation' comes from chapter 13.

Jet died on chapter 33, as I've mentioned before. Coincidence that this is chapter 33 of Reload? Yes..


End file.
